Personal Assistant Avoids Jail, Faces Driving Ban After Cocaine Crash

0:00On April 7th, a 25-year-old personal assistant named Hadiza Atunse dodged jail time after a car crash where cops found her with a bag of cocaine. Last December 10th, around 10.30pm, her Toyota Oris slammed into a mini-cooper and ended up in some hedges in Wilmslow, Cheshire. She acted super erratic, wouldn't take a breath test, and had no insurance on the car. Police took her into custody right there, but instead of locking her up, they rushed her to late in hospital and crew. Turns out, they suspected she had acute behavioral disturbance, also called excited delirium syndrome. A medical emergency that causes wild agitation, confusion, and can even lead to heart issues or worse. This condition isn't an official diagnosis, but covers stuff like drug use, mental health crises, or injuries, and cops are trained to get folks. Straight to the ER, not jail. Atunse works for a Lancaster company helping people with spinal injuries and losing her license hits hard since she drives clients to appointments.

1:03In crew magistrates court, prosecutors noted her good character and no prior drug-driving suspicions. Her lawyer explained the delirium made her non-compliant, and she barely remembers the chaos, but owns up to the cocaine. She got hit with a 730-pound fine, a 377-pound surcharge, and a 22-month driving ban, though she can. Cut that by a quarter with a course. Now she's focused on moving forward, despite the job shake-up.