A WOMAN who led police on a pursuit along four Orange streets until her arrest has been jailed for at least six months.
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Donna Marie Yates, 46 of Matthews Avenue, faced Orange Local Court on Monday charged with police pursuit, including failure to stop and reckless driving, and driving while disqualified.
According to police, officers were patrolling Hill Street just before 1.30am on September 30 as part of Operation Slowdown when they saw a white Toyota Corolla exit a driveway and speed away from police.
The car turned left onto Margaret Street, travelling between 70-80km/h in a 50km/h zone and police unsuccessfully tried to pull it over.
The car then turned right onto Kearneys Drive, cutting the corner and turned right again onto Matthews Avenue before stopping.
Police asked her why she did not stop and she replied, “I just wanted to get the car home”.
In court, solicitor Gerry Stapleton said his client borrowed the Corolla from a friend.
“When she sighted police, she said she panicked,” he said.
Mr Stapleton said in hindsight, she would have stopped, but magistrate David Day said she needed to act well before.
“She was disqualified, she had her foot down and, not very skillfully, drove the car,” he said.
Mr Day noted her record was poor and had already been disqualified this year.
He jailed her for nine months with a non-parole period of six months.
She will be eligible for a licence in 2022.
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