Pharmacy assistant who got so drunk she FORGOT ploughing her VW Beetle over 30ft cliff is banned from roads for two years
- Laura Ciampa-Buckley was nearly three times the drink drive limit during crash
- 29-year-old banned from driving for two years with £170 costs and unpaid work
- Miraculously suffered no injuries after plunging off cliff into some bushes below
Laura Ciampa-Buckley was nearly three times the drink drive limit when her VW Beetle careered through metal railings and plummeted 30ft. She is seen outside Isle of Wight Magistrates Court last Friday
A pharmacy assistant got so drunk she could not remember driving her car off the edge of a cliff, a court heard.
Laura Ciampa-Buckley was nearly three times the drink drive limit when her VW Beetle careered through metal railings and plummeted 30ft.
The 29-year-old had driven to the pub to meet a friend, but when they did not show up she stayed for a few drinks – planning to walk home 25 minutes later. But Ms Ciampa-Buckley drank more than anticipated and the next thing she knew she was on a stretcher having driven over the edge of a cliff.
Horrified paramedics and fire fighters believed she was seriously injured when they arrived at the scene to see her green Beetle embedded in bushes 30ft below.
Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court heard Ciampa-Buckley miraculously suffered only minor injuries despite ploughing through the railings and over the edge in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, on September 26 last year.
Prosecutor Reginald Withey told the court: ‘At the time responders thought she was seriously injured.
‘But after they got the defendant out the car, it was found her injuries were minor and she was taken to hospital.’
Ciampa-Buckley’s VW Beetle being winched from the bottom of the cliff in Ventnor, Isle of Wight on September 26 last year
Magistrate Mark Couch banned her from driving for two years and ordered she complete 80 hours of unpaid work, along with £170 costs. This photo was taken before the car was moved
The prosecutor said tests at St Mary’s Hospital, in Newport, Isle of Wight, found she had 216 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – the legal limit is 80mgs.
Ciampa-Buckley, of Ventnor, admitted one count of drink driving.
Magistrate Mark Couch banned her from driving for two years and ordered she complete 80 hours of unpaid work, along with £170 costs.
Mitigating, Keith Verrinder told the court: ‘This incident is something she hasn’t made a habit of.
‘She made an arrangement to collect some money, the person who she made that arrangement with didn’t turn up.
‘Then she met with some friends and decided to have a drink. She intended to walk home.
‘But she had more drinks than she expected to and somehow ended up driving home. She doesn’t remember the circumstances that led to her driving over the edge.’
Mitigating, Keith Verrinder told the court: ‘This incident is something she hasn’t made a habit of.’ Pictured: The car before being winched up