Road workers stop alleged drunk driver with baby on State Highway 29 near Tauranga

A woman driving allegedly three times the legal alcohol limit with a baby on board has been caught with the help of a roading crew.

Police said today the crew spotted the woman driving her vehicle the wrong way through roadworks on State Highway 29 near Tauranga around 2pm on Monday.

She stopped and the roading crew noticed she was disoriented. They managed to keep her stationary while police were called, police said.

Western Bay of Plenty area road policing manager Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter said road workers told police they had seen the woman drive into their roadworks site the wrong way and that she appeared intoxicated when spoken to.

The workers said there was a baby in the rear of the vehicle.

“Units arrived at the scene to test the driver for excess breath alcohol and she was allegedly more than three times the legal alcohol limit,” Hunter said.

The woman was not able to drive the vehicle properly, let alone care for the baby in the car, he said.

Police had made a referral to Oranga Tamariki regarding the child’s care.

“We thank the team of road workers who alerted us to this behaviour.

“This vigilant reporting is often the key to police being able to respond in a timely manner and hold people to account for their actions,” Hunter said.

A 37-year-old woman was remanded to appear in Tauranga District Court at a later date.