Jamie Stewart: A young woman who injured three friends driving a golf cart on Hamilton Island at four times the legal alcohol limit was a ‘recipe for disaster’
- The teenager drank heavily before the accident
- She was driving an overloaded golf cart
A teenager who injured three friends in a golf cart accident on Hamilton Island had nearly four times the legal alcohol limit, a court chief.
Jamie Alexandra Stewart, 18, drank vodka cruisers after work on May 10 before driving an overloaded golf cart with three colleagues on board.
She was driving to an observation post on Acacia Drive around 1 a.m. on May 11 when the buggy flipped over after making a sharp right turn at 20 km/h, four times the speed limit.
A 21-year-old rear passenger who was not wearing her seatbelt was thrown about five meters, injuring her face, Mail Mail reported.
The injured woman was transported by rescue helicopter to Mackay Base Hospital for treatment, the court heard.
Jamie Alexandra Stewart, who injured three friends while driving on Hamilton Island, was almost four times over the legal alcohol limit and a ‘recipe for disaster’, a court chief has heard
A golf cart is pictured on the Queensland resort of Hamilton Island
Stewart, from the Sunshine Coast, was captured on CCTV footage 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 working order, the number of passengers on board contributed to its overturning.
“It was more luck than good management that no one was hurt more,” police prosecutor Lachlan Perry said.
Another passenger, trapped under the buggy after the accident, had told Stewart to slow down because he was “freaking out” at the speed she was driving, the court heard.
The teenager pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without caution and being careful and failing passengers to wear seatbelts.
Stewart lost his job on Hamilton Island (pictured) after a late night golf cart crash
Mr Perry suggested Stewart get 18 months probation, but his lawyer, Peta Vernon, asked magistrate Michelle Howard not to.
Ms Vernon said her client had already paid the price for what happened as she lost her job after the crash, in which she suffered a concussion.
“You don’t want to be in that position,” Ms Howard told Stewart, who was fined $1,500 and banned from driving for eight months.
No convictions have been recorded.
