AN ICE-using learner driver speeding at 160km/h on the Hume Highway while heading to her grandfather’s funeral took a photograph behind the wheel and sent it to her mum.
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Brooke Fowler, 20, was told in court on Friday she was lucky the next funeral she attended wasn’t her own.
She had been in Geelong with a friend on Monday when they left to head back to Wodonga.
The white Nissan Pulsar the pair were in had two different number plates – one stolen from Victoria, the other from NSW.
Fowler drove into the northbound BP service station in Glenrowan about 1.45pm and stopped at the bowser.
Her friend got out and pumped in $60 worth of unleaded fuel and the pair drove away without paying.
As she was driving, Fowler took a photograph of the car’s speedometer, with a reading of more than 160km/h, and sent it to her mother.
The image had the caption “wont be long (sic)”.
The Pulsar entered Wodonga about 2.30pm and Fowler sped off when she noticed an unmarked police car.
Officers followed the vehicle into Thurgoona and lost sight of it.
The car was dumped on Elizabeth Mitchell Drive and Fowler changed clothes to avoid detection and waited at a bus stop for a taxi.
She was later arrested and charged with speeding, fuel theft and dangerous driving.
Her mother wept in the Wodonga Magistrates Court on Friday as details of her ice use were heard.
The 20-year-old was introduced to the drug by a friend a year ago, which the court heard had “become an issue”.
She leaned back in her chair and appeared disinterested during the hearing.
Mr Watkins said Fowler was “lucky she’s here”.
“In doing that, she has disrespected her grandfather, apart from the issues of road safety,” he said.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Wayne Taylor told the magistrate of the need to deter others from such behaviour.
“The next funeral she might have attended could well have been her own,” he said.
“Correct,” Mr Watkins replied.
The vehicle, while not stolen, was also unregistered.
Mr Watkins said he needed time to consider his sentence. Defence lawyer Mario Vaccaro said jail should be considered only as a last resort.
Fowler will be assessed for a community corrections order and will return to court on Monday.
