Female driver, 21, passed TWO roadside drug tests before she told cops she had taken popular party drug
A FEMALE driver passed two breathalyser tests – before telling cops she had taken a popular party drug.
Abbie Kenningley, 21, was ordered to take drug and wipe tests after cops saw her driving “erratically” at 1am on December 3 last year.
The tests came back negative, even though Kenningley was dazed and unsteady on her feet.
Officers were about to let Kenningley go when a suspicious constable asked what she had been doing that night.
She said: “Ketamine.”
Kenningley was arrested and taken back to a police station – where another test showed she was almost five times over the limit.
The dog-grooming business owner, from Southport in Merseyside, now faces a road ban after admitting drug driving.
Alex Farrow, prosecuting, told Sefton JPs: “‘Officers had pulled up at a red traffic light.
“Next to them they could see the defendant alone in a car. She appeared dazed.
“She pulled in front of the police car upon which they then monitored her standard of driving.
“She appeared to find it difficult to keep in lane and was swaying from side to side.
Farrow added: “There was no indication when she turned off the roundabout.
“She crossed the central white line into the opposing carriageway and again, she was swaying.
“She turned left and then fully contravened the carriageway placing her vehicle in the opposite side of the road.
“The police activated the emergency lights to stop the vehicle. The vehicle did stop.
“She parked it at an angle on the road with the rear facing into the road.
“She was asked to get out of the vehicle. She was unsteady on her feet.
“She appeared lethargic, dazed and confused. It was noted that her eyes were glazed over.
“She was asked what she had been doing and she replied ‘ketamine’.”
‘GLAZED EYES’
Tests showed Kenningley had 96 micrograms of ketamine per 100 millitres of blood – more than four times the limit.
In mitigation, defence solicitor Marcella Salter said: “She would not be before the courts but for her own admissions.
“That night the defendant pulled over at an angle as she thought that the police car was trying to get past her.
“‘She did not appreciate that the officers were trying to stop her. She spoke to the officers who believed that she is unsteady on her feet.
“They asked her for a roadside breath test for alcohol which came back negative.
“Then they spotted the glazed eyes and coupled with the manner of her driving they then ask for a drug wipe sample.
“She provided a roadside drug wipe – but that too comes back as negative.
“The officers then spoke to the defendant, who is 21 years old, who has never been stopped by the police before.
“She has no previous convictions, no involvement with police until the night in question.
“Obviously, there was no alcohol in her system, the drug wipe was clear, it was negative.”
Salter added: “The officers then asked the defendant ‘What have you been doing?’
“Through her own admission, she said she had been to a friend’s and used ketamine.
“As soon as she said that she was placed under caution and taken to a police station.
“She was asked to provide a sample of blood and that was sent away and came back positive.
“She received a summons to court with the correct charge of drug driving.”
Salter said: “The defendant does not accept that the level of driving was as described.
“She does not accept that she crossed the white lines and waved between the white lines on the opposite side of the road.
“But she is remorseful and that is confirmed in the reference by a social worker who has known the defendant for four years.
“She is self-employed, a dog groomer. She has had the business for approximately one year.
“She earns £150 a week. She takes from the business as her wage. She lives at home with her parents and pays for her keep.
“She is a young lady trying to move forward, not someone who is before the court on a regular basis.
“Disqualification will no doubt impact her business but she needs to take responsibility for what she did on the night in question.”
Magistrates adjourned the case for a Newton hearing at Liverpool in July.