Mother-of-three drug-driver who crashed her car while six times the legal limit after cocaine binge avoids jail after claiming she didn’t feel ‘under the influence’
A mother-of-three drug-driver who crashed her car after going on a cocaine binge has avoided being sent to prison.
Claire Toland overturned her Peugeot 206 after losing control when hitting a kerb, before smashing through a road sign and ploughing into the wall of a house while on its roof.
The 43-year-old later was six times the legal drugs limit – failing failed a drugs test with a reading showing 323 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine (BZE) the main metabolite of cocaine per litre of blood in her system with the legal limit being 50mg.
She also tested positive for cocaine itself with 11 micrograms of the Class A white powder in her system, the legal limit being 10mg.
But Toland, of Withington, Manchester, avoid jailed after JPs accepted her claims she felt safe to drive. The mother-of-three was instead given a £120 fine and 12-month driving ban.
Claire Toland, pictured here outside Stockport Magistrates’ Court
The 43-year-old mother-of-three claimed she had felt safe to drive before the crash in Stockport in March last year
At Stockport Magistrates’ Court, Toland admitted drug-driving but insisted she did not feel ‘under the influence’ at the time of the crash and claimed she had only lost control of her car whilst avoiding a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road. She also argued she had only taken cocaine some days before the crash and most of it had gone out of her system by the time of the impact.
JPs said it was not clear whether her senses would have been ‘impaired’ at the time but they banned her from driving for 12 months.
Toland had earlier scrapped plans for an appeal to keep her driving licence under the ‘special reasons’ legal provisions.
Tineka O’Mara, prosecuting, said: ‘Officers were actually responding to a collision in March 23 last year. The incident occurred when the defendant was driving on Longford Road West in Stockport. Her vehicle veered off the road and collided with a kerb which caused the vehicle to overturn. The vehicle continued to travel along the road for several yards and collided with a street sign and a wall belonging to a private house. The wall was damaged.
‘Officers attended and spoke with the driver, the defendant, who was still present at the scene. The officers conducted a roadside breath test and also a Drugwipe test. There was a positive Drugwipe test for cocaine.
‘The defendant was taken into custody where a sample of blood was taken for testing.
‘The reading was 11 micrograms per litre for cocaine, which is slightly over the prescribed limit of 10. But the result for BZE came back as 323 micrograms per litre, the legal limit is 50.’
In the crash, Toland’s vehicle flipped onto its roof before smashing through a road sign and ploughing into the side of a house
Miss O’Mara said that Toland had no previous convictions. The court heard that despite being charged with two drug offences she should be sentenced for one drug only as BZE is a by-product of cocaine.
In mitigation, Toland’s lawyer Terry Maddocks said: ‘She was going through a particularly difficult time when the offence took place. She was suffering from a bereavement following the loss of her mother and is a single parent who is carer for her 11-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with severe autism.
‘She became friendly with a quite heavy cocaine user and began using cocaine which she said eased the symptoms of depression and enabled her to socialise. She had not taken cocaine on the day of the accident and indeed the reading for that is only one microgram over the limit of 10 micrograms. There only needs to be a small amount of cocaine to fall foul of that.
‘It is also accepted that BZE does not cause impairment at all. In fact the test for BZE is only because cocaine breaks down quite quickly so the BZE test means drug drivers won’t fall through the detection net.’
Mr Maddocks said that Toland no longer associates with the woman who led her into cocaine use. Saying that along with her 11-year-old son, she also cares for two other children aged two and six, the solicitor added that the driving ban was going to create difficulties for her.
He said: ‘She is solely responsible for the children’s care. She has previously driven them to school but she is going to have to use public transport.
‘A vehicle was approaching her on the wrong carriageway. She swerved to take evasive action. She did not think she was over the limit and she did not feel that she was impaired by the use of cocaine. She felt it was solely because she had to take evasive action.
‘There were no injuries but damage to the wall.’
Toland was also ordered to pay £134 in costs and victim surcharge. JP Larry Collier said: ‘Your solicitor explained that you were simply avoiding the other vehicle. Whether your senses were impaired by what substance you took we will never know but we are giving you the benefit of the doubt.’
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