A New Zealand woman with nine children and three adults in her car refused to stop for police on Sunday night after they signaled for her to pull over.
The driver of the Honda was not only speeding at 116km/hr while over the legal alcohol limit – but several of the children including a baby in a capsule were all unrestrained.
Police initially signalled for the driver to stop, but seeing it was loaded with passengers they made no attempts to pursue the vehicle at speed, Waikato road policing Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering said on Monday.
A 30-year-old woman was caught drink-driving with nine ‘unrestrained’ children in her car
‘We didn’t want to risk any sort of greater danger for the occupants of that car or any other road users,’ the officer clarified.
‘Police were very cautious and made the correct decisions not to engage in pursuit.
‘There were some attempts to stop the vehicle in the city itself by city patrols, and it once again failed to stop.’
Authorities later tracked down the 30-year-old woman by her registration number, arrested her and administered a breath test.
It was discovered that the other adults in the car were also intoxicated.
She will now front Hamilton District Court on several charges, including excess breath alcohol, reckless driving and aggravated failing to stop.
A New Zealand woman with nine children the car refused to stop for police on Sunday night
‘It was evident to attending officers there were not enough safety restraints for all of the children, at all,’ Senior Sergeant van de Wetering explained in a statement.
‘That a driver of a van with so many people, including a defenceless young baby, would fail to stop and drive at excess speed, it’s shameful.
‘This had the markers of potentially resulting in a serious crash.’