A mother-of-five who went on a drink-driving rampage in a 14 tonne lorry has been jailed for 27 months and banned from driving for three years.
The judge at Belfast Crown Court told 41-year-old Susan McKay from Sugarfield Street in east Belfast that she was fortunate indeed that no-one was killed or injured during the incident.
As it was, the judge said, the incident represented "about as bad a piece of dangerous driving as I have ever seen,'' especially as through it all, McKay was more than twice over the legal drink drive limit.
The court heard that during the incident, McKay drove at speeds of up to 60m/h in a built-up 30m/h zone.
She crashed into six cars and caused pedestrians to scatter before crashing into a telegraph pole.
The court was also told she could barely remember what happened and was pulled from the cab of the lorry by members of the public.
Her lawyer urged the judge not to jail McKay as it would cause hardship to her husband and five children.
However, the judge said the court had to balance that against the offences and the outrage the public rightly have against drink-driving and driving in the appalling manner the defendant did.
