A WOMAN who ran over two men in a bizarre incident at Springdale Heights last year before crashing her car in a lagoon off the Lincoln Causeway has pleaded guilty to three charges.
Lita-Maree Jones appeared in Albury Local Court yesterday through a video link and entered pleas to charges of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and driving furiously causing bodily harm.
Five other charges were withdrawn by a Director of Public Prosecutions, who supplied information about the incident on December 14 last year.
Jones, 33, travelled with her husband, David White, from Queensland in a white Mitsubishi car, arriving at her former partner’s residence about 5.55pm.
She sat in the car while White confronted the victim with a tyre lever, threatened to bash him and said: “You slept with my wife.”
It was denied by the victim, who told White to put the tyre lever down and they would settle it.
But White replied: “No, I’m settling this with this.”
He then attacked the victim with the weapon but subsequently was overpowered and pinned to the ground.
It was then, at White’s behest to run the victim down, that Jones moved from the vehicle’s passenger seat to the driver’s seat.
She drove directly at the two men, did not deviate or decelerate and hit both of them.
They went underneath the car, with the victim being dragged about 5m and her husband up to 4m.
Both suffered substantial injuries and Jones kept driving through Albury to the Lincoln Causeway where she veered left after crossing the Murray River.
Jones drove down an embankment and into a lagoon, with police from NSW and Victoria attending to remove her from the vehicle.
An ambulance took her to the Albury Base Hospital and police secured the car, which was partially submerged, and set up a crime scene at Springdale Heights.
There was a large amount of blood in Gardinia Street and both men went to hospital for treatment.
Jones was arrested by police after being released from hospital.
She was charged and refused bail.
She has been committed for sentence in the District Court sittings starting in Albury on November 15.
Jones remains in custody.