A 25-year-old blamed nerves for her inability to complete a breath test after hitting a woman with her car.
Luckily for Gracious Sibanda, the woman did not suffer serious injuries after being struck at a slow speed on Norfolk Street in Lynn.
Sibanda appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where she admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis after police suspected she was drink-driving on August 17.
During the early hours of the morning, Sibanda was driving a Honda Jazz when she pulled out of a car parking space on the busy town centre road.
She did not have any lights on, despite it being dark, and the police soon saw her strike a woman at a slow speed.
Sibanda, of Lavender Road in Gaywood, was stopped and asked to carry out a roadside breath test to see if she was drink-driving.
After a third attempt, she provided a reading of 68mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit to drive is 35mcg.
Sibanda was arrested and taken to Lynn’s Police Investigation Centre for questioning, where she was given “ample” opportunity to provide an evidential test, but did not.
Prosecutor Asif Akram described it as a “deliberate refusal”.
Sibanda appeared unrepresented in court and told magistrates it was her first time being arrested, saying she was nervous.
“Yes, I did try to provide the sample, but the instructions were not clear and the police kept telling me different things at the same time,” she said.
“It was my first time being in a police room. I was quite nervous – I could not blow into the breathaliser.”
Sibanda added that the mandatory driving disqualification that comes with committing this offence will impact her getting to and from work.
She told magistrates that she drove to court on Thursday, and would have to sort out getting her car collected by somebody else.
Sibanda was banned from driving for 16 months and handed a £307 fine.
She will also pay a £123 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.
