A Moyston woman has been spared a conviction after crashing her car during an alcohol-fuelled incident.
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The woman appeared at Ararat Magistrates' Court on Friday, December 3, and pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving.
The court heard that the woman drank a bottle of whisky with a friend at his Moyston residence on March 15, 2021.
Her child played inside with another child.
At 6.15pm the woman became agitated as the man prepared dinner and attempted to leave the property.
Her child refused to accompany her due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed.
The man followed the woman to her car to stop her from leaving, as she was too intoxicated to drive.
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When the woman entered her car, the man called 000 and stood in the property's driveway to stop her from leaving.
The court heard the woman drove away, almost colliding with the man before smashing the property's gate, exiting onto the street and performing a burnout.
The woman then drove erratically into the Moyston town centre, crashing into the Moyston General Store at around 9.20pm.
She then travelled on foot back to the man's property and began to argue with him.
The court was told the woman had grabbed a steak knife and held it to her throat, threatening to harm herself.
At 10.15pm police attended the property and found the woman leaning against a power pole outside.
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She was taken to Moyston police station and made to undergo an alcohol breath test, producing a result of 0.066 BAC.
Defence counsel Dylan Morris said the woman had previously been diagnosed with PTSD due to workplace harassment and had little to no food in the 24 hours before the incident.
He said the presence of alcohol had created a "perfect storm" for the woman to enter a psychological episode.
Magistrate Tim Walsh commended the woman for the significant steps she had taken towards rehabilitation following the incident.
"I take the view that the conduct on this day was completely out of character. To a large extent you were not in your right mind," Mr Walsh said.
"I have someone before me who has done so much to confront those issues and deal with them."
The woman was sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction.
Her driver's license was disqualified for six months.
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