Jamie Stewart: Young woman who injured three friends driving golf buggy on on Hamilton Island resort at four times the legal alcohol limit was a ‘recipe for disaster’
Jamie Stewart: Young woman who injured three friends while driving a golf cart at the Hamilton Island resort with four times the legal alcohol limit was a ‘recipe for disaster’
- Teen was drinking heavily before crash
- She was driving an overloaded golf cart
A teen who injured three friends in a golf cart accident on Hamilton Island was nearly four times over the legal alcohol limit, a court chief said.
18-year-old Jamie Alexandra Stewart drank vodka cruisers after work on May 10 before driving an overloaded golf cart with three colleagues on board.
She was driving to a lookout on Acacia Drive around 1 a.m. on May 11 when the buggy overturned after making a sharp right turn at 12 mph — four times the speed limit.
A 21-year-old rear passenger who was not wearing a seatbelt was thrown approximately five meters and injured her face, Courier Mail reported.
The injured woman was flown by a rescue helicopter to Mackay Base Hospital for treatment, the court heard.
Jamie Alexandra Stewart, who injured three friends while driving on Hamilton Island, was nearly four times over the legal alcohol limit and a ‘recipe for disaster’, a court chief
A golf cart is pictured at the holiday resort of Hamilton Island in Queensland
Stewart, from the Sunshine Coast, was captured on CCTV drinking in a bar before the crash, and when her breath was tested she was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.193.
Proserpine Magistrates Court was told that although the buggy was in good condition, the number of passengers on it contributed to it overturning.
“It was more luck than good management that no one was hurt anymore,” said police prosecutor Lachlan Perry.
Another passenger, trapped under the buggy after the crash, had told Stewart to slow down because he was “freaking out” at how fast she was going, the court heard.
The teen pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without due caution and attention, and failure to comply with seat belt requirements by passengers.
Stewart lost her job on Hamilton Island (pictured) after a nighttime golf cart crash
Mr Perry suggested that Stewart be given 18 months’ probation, but her lawyer, Peta Vernon, asked magistrate Michelle Howard not to do so.
Ms Vernon said her client had already paid the price for what happened when she lost her job after the crash, which left her with a concussion.
“You don’t want to be put in this position again,” Ms Howard told Stewart, who was fined $1,500 and disqualified from driving for eight months.
No convictions were recorded.