A technicality such as not having a licence for 17 years did not stop Kim Wiesner from driving.
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And she did not want to pull over when asked by police either.
Wiesner, 40, appeared in Wodonga Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to seven charges including unlicensed driving and possessing methamphetamine and cannabis.
Police noticed something was wrong on the afternoon of September 25 last year, when they spotted Wiesner stopped at the roundabout where traffic enters the Hume Freeway on-ramp from Bandiana Link Road.
A quick check revealed her blue Ford sedan was unregistered.
Police followed Wiesner north along the freeway for about one kilometre with lights and sirens, but she would not pull over.
The prosecutor said the pursuit was conducted at the speed limit, but was abandoned when the cars reached the NSW border.
“At no time was there any danger to the public, but she refused to stop,” he said.
Wiesner was arrested soon afterwards. “The accused denied driving at the time, but refused to provide any details of who was driving,” the prosecutor said.
It was the second time in two months the woman had been caught driving without a licence – she had not held one since 1999.
Wiesner also pleaded guilty to possessing 1g of cannabis and 0.1g of ice in her wallet when police were called to Coles Supermarket to stop an altercation between her and her ex-partner.
Her defence lawyer said the pursuit occurred not long before a serious incident where the woman was thrown out of a moving car.
He said she was placed in a coma and spent a week in intensive care with three fractured ribs, a neck injury and needed 20 staples to her head.
“She has described this as a wake-up call,” he said.
“As a result of that, she has sold her car and is riding a bike.”
The incident was reported to police and an intervention order taken out against Wiesner’s attacker, but she said she had not given a statement to police.
Magistrate David Faram convicted Wiesner on the charges and placed her on a 12-month community corrections order, with a condition to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
He warned her the punishment was an order of the court, which he expected to be obeyed.