Woman fined for crashing car into wall of house

Sunday 14 April 2024

A woman who crashed her car through bollards and into the wall of a house – while she had passengers in the back – has been fined £3,000.

The Magistrate’s Court heard that Ana Maria Santiago Coimbra Cerveira (52) had no valid motor insurance at the time of the crash, on 26 January.

St Peter Centenier Joao Camara, prosecuting, said Cerveira had been driving down Beaumont Hill at around 20:20 when she clipped the kerb, lost control of her silver Honda Civic and crashed through bollards and into the wall of a house in Rue de Craslin.

Police and ambulance were called, but neither Cerveira nor her two adult passengers sustained serious injuries.

Officers noticed the car’s window insurance disc was out of date. Cerveira admitted careless driving, and driving without insurance.

Advocate Lauren Glynn, defending, pointed out that Cerveira had been driving for many years without an accident, and said: “This was a one-off.”

Advocate Glynn also added that Ms Cerveira was certainly not driving too fast, nor were there any defects to the vehicle.

Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke said he had taken into consideration Cerveira’s guilty plea and her co-operation with the police.

However, he added that the presence of passengers in the car did not allow him to reduce the levels of the fines.

She was fined £1,000 for careless driving and £2,000 for driving without insurance.

Cerveira’s licence was also endorsed – meaning that if she commits another motoring offence within the next three years she may lose it.