A mid-range drink driver who said she had only consumed soft drink has been told to get better friends if she thinks her drink was spiked.
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Chloe Jane White of Glenroi pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving despite maintaining that she thought she only had soft drinks at a party before she was stopped by the police.
According to court documents, police stopped 20-year-old White's car for a random breath test in Dalton Street at 1.33am on March 24, 2023.
She had four other occupants in the car and her driver's licence was suspended from February 7, 2024 to May 6, 2024.
White showed police a digital driver's licence on her mobile that had not been refreshed and did not show the suspension.
When asked if she had consumed alcohol White said no.
However, she was breath tested and returned a positive reading.
White was arrested and taken to Orange Police Station for further breath analysis.
During the observation period she continued to state she had not drunk alcohol and only consumed soft drink.
About 2.09am she underwent another round of testing for the breath analysis and returned a mid-range reading of 0.085.
Police cautioned her and asked about her licence and she told police she was under the impression the driving suspension had been lifted.
White appeared in Orange Local Court on Thursday, April 18, 2024 to be sentenced for driving while her licence was suspended and for mid-range drink driving having pleaded guilty to both offences.
Her solicitor Emily Lucas said White has entered a plan to pay off the fine that led to the licence suspension.
Magistrate David Day questioned whether White was a drinker or not and that if she was she would notice if someone spiked her drink with alcohol.
"The middle range is a bit confusing because she thought she had been drinking soft drink," Mr Day said.
"She thought she was ok, didn't even feel a bit tipsy because she thought she had been drinking soft drink.
"All alcoholic beverages which are premixed are marked and have funny-looking labels.
"If she's mixing with people who mix their own drinks then ... some of her friends are not really her friends."
He said an added difficulty when it came to sentencing White was that she was on a P2 licence meaning her blood alcohol level was supposed to be 0.00.
Mr Day said White also received the benefit of a non-conviction for the same offence within the last five years so she could not get another one.
"She's heard what I've said about her thinking she was drinking soft drink," Mr Day said.
"If that's what it was then someone is trying to take advantage of you."
For the mid-range drink driving offence Mr Day convicted White and sentenced her to a six month community correction order, disqualified her from driving for three months and gave her a 12-month interlock order.
He also disqualified her driver's licence for one month and convicted her without further penalty for driving while her licence was suspended.
