Drunk estate agent, 30, crashed her Mercedes into a bus stop while more than double the limit after a work party before trying to flee from police on foot
- Kirsty Ogden drank three or four drinks at a work leaving do before the crash
- She pleaded guilty to drink-diving at Bromley Magistrates’ Court in south London
- The court banned her from driving for 22 months, meaning she will lose her job
A drunk-driving estate agent crashed her Mercedes into a bus stop while over double the limit before trying to flee police on foot, a court heard.
Kirsty Ogden, 30, drank ‘three or four’ drinks at a work leaving party before getting behind the wheel and was told yesterday she was lucky no one had been hurt.
She appeared in Bromley Magistrates’ Court in south London, where she pleaded guilty to driving the white Mercedes with excess alcohol in her breath in Charlton Park Road on July 15.
Magistrate Timothy Nathan told her: ‘You were very lucky there was no one standing in the queue at that bus stop and God forbid, had anyone been injured or even killed then you could have gone to prison for many years.’
Kirsty Ogden, 30, (pictured above outside Bromley Magistrates’ Court) pleaded guilty to driving over the limit after drinking four drinks at a work party, before getting behind the wheel of her white Mercedes
Ogden, of Vallance House, Callis Close, Woolwich, will lose her job at ‘one of the most profitable branches in the country,’ after being banned from driving for 22 months, fined £300 and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
Ogden had 78 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, while the legal limit for driving is 35 micrograms per 100ml.
Prosecutor Dwain Coward told the court that when police arrived on the scene, Ogden tried to run away, which magistrate Mr Nathan noted was an ‘aggravating factor’.
Mr Coward said: ‘Police received a call from an informant that a car had crashed into a bus stop and the female driver had exited and was walking away.
‘The witness said the female was on a mobile phone, saying ‘I need your help’ to whoever she was talking to.
‘The police officers searched the area on foot and saw this defendant walking a short distance away.
‘When she saw the police officers, she began to run away and was chased and arrested and admitted she had been driving the vehicle and crashed it.’
Ogden’s lawyer Michael Gallagher told the court: ‘She says she had been drinking at a leaving do in Blackheath for a member of staff in her office.
‘She had three or four drinks and felt fine to drive even though she had not eaten all day and decided to drive the short distance and misjudged and clipped the curb and collided with the bus stop.
‘She says she was pacing back and forth while on the phone and was walking around in circles.
‘The police officers say she was crying, upset, frightened, disorientated and was asking for help.
‘She does not believe she was running away from the police, but returning to the scene and accepts she had four drinks and was the driver.
‘After an abusive relationship she came to London five years ago with no family support and was working in the hospitality industry until it was destroyed by Covid.
The estate agent has been banned from driving for 22 months, meaning she will lose her job
‘After that career she began working as an estate agent and has been in her current role for three years, working as an estate agent on commission.
‘The commission is quite low, equivalent to the minimum wage, but she has been quite successful and was promoted to property consultant.
‘She had taken out a lease agreement on the car, was working hard and felt she was doing well in her career.
‘There was minor superficial damage to her Mercedes, but it would not start up and now she does not have enough money to repair it.
‘Her employer has told her if she does not have a car she cannot work. She is unable to take people to viewings and travel to properties for what is one of the most profitable branches in the country.
‘This is out of character. She has misjudged this and is going to pay for it.
‘She wants to be an estate agent and I ask you to go outside the guidelines of an approximate 17-month disqualification due to her remorse and co-operation.’
Magistrate Mr Nathan disagreed. ‘We don’t share Mr Gallagher’s view. The police officers say, quite clearly, Ms Ogden left the scene and was running away and we regard that as an aggravating factor.’
He told Ogden: ‘You could have been charged separately for leaving the scene.
‘We know you will lose your job and we are sorry about that.’
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