A woman has been charged after a child was critically injured in a single-vehicle crash in the state’s north yesterday.
About 3.45pm (Thursday 22 October 2020), emergency services were called to Armidale Road, Dundurrabin – about 58km south of Grafton – after a black Holden Commodore travelling north left the road and went down an embankment, before rolling onto its side and crashing into a tree.
The driver, a 28-year-old woman, freed herself from the vehicle.
Her passenger, a seven-year-old girl who is known to her, was released a short time later and airlifted to Brisbane Children’s Hospital with serious head injuries.
Officers attached to Coffs/Clarence Police District established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist police from the Crash Investigation Unit.
The driver was arrested after she allegedly returned a positive roadside breath test. She was taken to Dorrigo Police Station where a subsequent breath analysis returned an alleged reading of 0.067, before being taken to Dorrigo Hospital for mandatory testing.
The women then attended Coffs Harbour Police Station, where she was taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital under police guard for observation.
About 3pm today (Friday 23 October 2020), she was released from hospital and taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station, where she was charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm- drive under the influence, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm- driver manner dangerous, negligent driving (occasions grievous bodily harm), drive with low range PCA, drive motor vehicle while licence suspended, use unregistered registrable Class A motor vehicle on road, and use uninsured motor vehicle.
The Dundurrabin woman was refused bail to appear at Port Macquarie Local Court tomorrow (Saturday 24 October 2020).
