A HOMELESS woman who went looking for refuge has instead been landed with a $1200 fine for her involvement in a crash in Melbourne eight years ago.
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The woman in her 40s pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to drug driving and other charges.
She had been living in a women’s refuge in a regional Victorian town until November last year, when she moved in with a man in another part of the state.
Defence counsel Luke Docherty told the court when the relationship became abusive, the woman fled to another area and attempted to gain temporary accommodation in a hotel through a charity.
The chairty told her to make a statement to police, but when she went to the police station on Wednesday she was taken into custody.
A check on her name uncovered the unresolved charges from the crash in 2008.
She was kept in custody overnight and later appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, when the details of the crash were read out.
The court heard the women was driving in Melbourne in 2008 when she hit the back of a motorbike. The rider was propelled forward from the bike.
Police attended and found her “agitated, unable to stand still, and rubbing her hands all over herself”. They also found she had never had a driver’s licence.
She admitted to using cannabis, morphine, Xanax and Valium that day.
Mr Docherty suggested a small fine would be appropriate given the woman’s financial circumstances.
Magistrate Peter Mithen said while the charges were from eight years ago, they were still serious offences.
“We see it every day, motorcyclists come to grief for a range of reasons,” he said.
“When a person is driving near a motorbike while affected by drugs, anything can happen.
“I acknowledge that it’s taken courage to try and get help for your addictions. Don’t be afraid to get help if you need it.”
The woman was given one month to pay the $1200 fine or convert it to community work.
