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Drugged-up teen wrecks mum's car

A drug-ravaged teenager gobbled ecstasy tablets before smashing a stolen car into a wall, a court has heard.

Elizabeth Kirkman had no car insurance, no driving licence and had taken her mum’s Ford Fiesta without permission when the incident occurred in the early hours of October 29th 2005.

It was the learner-driver's first offence but the bench at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court felt that their powers were not sufficient to punish the teen and have referred her to Derby Crown Court, warning that a jail term is possible.

The court heard how 19-year-old Kirkman washed down two ecstasy tablets with alcohol before telling her stepfather that she wanted to get some CDs from the car. He handed her the keys and she proceeded to drive off and crash into a wall several miles away.

The car was later declared a write-off by her mother’s car insurance company and police discovered the drug-addled teen hiding nearby at her boyfriend's house. She then failed an impairment test at a police station and a blood sample taken from her was found to contain traces of the class-A drug ecstasy.

Kirkman pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated vehicle-taking, possessing ecstasy, driving while unfit through drugs, and driving without car insurance and a full licence.

Julie Page, defending, said, "She genuinely set out to get CDs from the car but, after getting inside the vehicle, she decided to go for a drive. She had some driving lessons but wasn't qualified to drive and she had taken ecstasy.

"She tried to dim the lights but turned them off. She went for the brakes to stop the car but hit the accelerator and ran into the wall."

If Elizabeth Kirkman is lucky enough to escape being sent to prison, there is no doubt that she will receive a hefty ban and a large fine. Should she ever decide to learn to drive properly she’ll face a challenge to find a cheap car insurance quote, and even the fantastic prices offered by specialist women's car insurance firms could be unable to help her.

*A replacement car can normally be arranged under one of the following conditions: (1) Comprehensive policyholders – a replacement car may be available under the terms of your insurance policy. Please check your policy details for more information. (2) Non fault accident – where we have the name, car registration number and insurance details of the person who caused the accident, we can supply a replacement car. This is done on a credit hire basis which means the costs for this service will be passed onto the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. We may not be able to arrange a replacement car where we are unable to get an admission of liability from their insurance company, or where the driver is untraceable or uninsured. (3) Repair garage – if your car is booked in for repairs following an accident, the repair garage may be able to provide a replacement car (subject to availability).

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