A FALLEN tennis player who was once ranked sixth in the country has been jailed for a dangerous drink-driving crash.
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Kahli Susan Senddon, 36, was so drunk after hitting a tree on September 22 that she fell out of the car.
A bottle of cheap brandy was sitting under the pedals of her smashed Toyota van.
Despite denying she had been driving, a witness she had almost hit told police she was behind the wheel.
The Yarrawonga woman, who has since moved to Wangaratta, blew a staggering 0.323 nearly two hours after the incident.
Albury Local Court on Monday heard Sneddon had been part of the Victorian Institute of sport from aged 12 to 17 and had been the highest ranked female player in the state.
She joined the Australian Institute of Sport and rose to the sixth seed in the country.
The court heard alcohol was now a prominent feature in Sneddon’s life, that she was a domestic violence victim, and homeless.
The incident occurred about 6.35pm on Golf Course Road at Barooga.
The 37-year-old veered off the 100km/h road, made a sharp turn to correct the vehicle and ran off the other side.
The van went down an embankment and into a tree.
The impact ripped a kayak and roof racks from the top of the Toyota.
Magistrate Tony Murray noted she was more than six times the limit with five aggravating factors.
"You're very lucky to be alive," he said.
Sneddon has been caught drink driving in Victoria three times before.
Mr Murray said she appeared to have tried to put the blame on her accommodation issues.
He jailed her for a minimum of three months with an eight-month maximum term, and banned her from driving for three years.