KEY POINTS:
A woman who drove hundreds of kilometres drunk with her toddler in the front seat before a truck driver forced her to stop is again facing charges of drink driving.
Karina Maree Coburn, 45, appeared in the Pukekohe District Court yesterday charged with being three times the legal limit when stopped by police last week.
She was also charged with careless driving on Sandspit Road in Waiuku.
Her alcohol level was 1238 micrograms per litre of breath. The legal limit is 400.
The mother of five was convicted of drink driving 18 months ago, after she was stopped by Pat Ratu, who jack-knifed his truck to block her path.
Mr Ratu watched Coburn weaving in and out of traffic on State Highway 3 in the King Country, and noticed her 2-year-old daughter in the front seat.
He called police before taking Coburn's keys. Her daughter was distraught and crying.
Coburn later told police she had been drinking wine since leaving Waiuku, south of Auckland and hundreds of kilometres from where she was stopped by Mr Ratu at Awakino.
Her breath-alcohol was 1066 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.
Mr Ratu was named Highway Hero of 2005 for his actions but said he was sad to have had to intervene.
"You have to do something and do something bloody quick to save a life. I saw they would definitely die," he told the Herald, which named Mr Ratu a New Zealander of the Year in 2005.
Coburn was sentenced in December 2005 to nine months' supervision and disqualified from driving for six months. She was ordered to attend any drug and alcohol counselling as directed by her probation officer.
Coburn would not comment on the new charges outside court yesterday. She was bailed without plea for two weeks.
