Judge wants drink check after mother drove drunk

Karina Maree Coburn's sentencing has been delayed for a month. Picture / Amos Chapple

A judge yesterday ordered an alcohol abuse assessment of a woman who admitted driving heavily drunk for hundreds of kilometres with her young child in the car.

Karina Maree Coburn, 43, of Awhitu, had arrived at Te Kuiti District Court yesterday expecting to be sentenced for driving at nearly three times the legal limit so she could "just get on with things".

But Judge Robert Spear ordered a pre-sentencing report, including an alcohol abuse assessment, delaying sentencing for four weeks.

Coburn's lawyer, Joy Allen, did not seek extended name suppression, citing a desire not to aggravate the circumstances.

The lawyer said Coburn had advised that she did not make a habit of drinking large amounts of alcohol, or of driving after drinking.

However, Coburn did admit to blacking out on the evening that she was charged, her lawyer said.

On that afternoon she had been at a welcoming gathering for her newborn grandson.

Police submitted a summary of facts to the judge, outlining witness accounts of a weaving car on State Highway 3.

Soon after the incident the Herald reported that Manurewa truck driver Pat Ratu had heroically passed the woman and jack-knifed his vehicle to stop the car entering the Awakino Gorge.

Coburn's 2-year-old child was found in the passenger seat and two empty wine bottles were in the car.

The mother-of-five recorded 1066 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

Last week Coburn said she hoped she would not be made an example of. She was also worried about any grief her school-aged children were having to cope with at school as news of her charge spread.

Outside court, friend Tony Black said Coburn was finding the situation "genuinely petrifying".

It was her first charge for drink-driving, and she was not sure of her rights, Mr Black said.

The Herald asked Coburn if she thought she had an alcohol problem. A friend advised her not to say anything, but Coburn replied: "To me it's not, but to them it is." She was ordered to appear in the Manukau District Court on November 30 for sentencing.