Woman who abandoned her car after crash fined £2,000

Thursday 15 December 2022

An islander who crashed her car and abandoned it in the middle of the road with the engine still running has been fined £2,000.

Danielle Mawson (27), who was also ordered to carry out 90 hours of community service, had been warned she could face jail for the charges of careless driving, failing to report an accident and failing to provide information to the police. She pleaded guilty to all of the charges.

But Advocate Estelle Burns, defending, told the Magistrate's Court that Mawson’s behaviour was ‘completely out of character’ and explained: ‘Miss Mawson was suffering from extreme anxiety and she had something of a breakdown, so she left the scene.’

Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu agreed to a fine and community punishment instead. He also banned her from driving for three months.
The court heard that Mawson was driving along Grande Route de St Brelade at around 11.30pm on 18 June when her car left the road and hit a wall.
It was later seen straddling the white line, with the engine still running, the keys in the ignition and the headlights on.

Pictured: Mawson's car was seen straddling the white line, with the engine still running, the keys in the ignition and the headlights on.

She had left the scene and States police traced her from the credit cards in her purse, but when they at first tried to contact her she failed to answer.
Advocate Burns said: ‘There was no damage to people or property. She clipped a wall but the damage was thankfully very minimal. There were guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity here.’

She also told the court that Mawson relied on her car to take her child to school and said: ‘It would be devastating if she lost her licence.’
However Mr Le Cornu told her: ‘You could have caused injury. You left your car in the middle of the road and then you failed in your duty to the police. I cannot avoid disqualification.’

Pictured: Mawson 'failed in [her] duty to the police'.

He sentenced her to 90 hours of community service for failing to report the accident, imposed a £1,500 fine for careless driving, and a further £500 for failing to give details to the police.

He allowed to pay the fines at the rate of £20 per week.