A New Zealand woman drove hundreds of kilometres while asleep at the wheel, sending texts from her cellphone along the way.
Police said on Wednesday they’d received an emergency call just after midnight from a friend concerned the woman had gone out in her car after taking sleeping medication.
Told that the woman had been sleep-driving 10 months previously and had a fondness for the beach, police ordered patrol cars to keep a lookout for her silver hatchback and began tracking her via her mobile phone.
They said data showed the phone was on and she was sending text messages as she drove from her Hamilton home to the beachside town of Mount Maunganui via Auckland, a distance of almost 300km.
POTENTIAL FOR TRAGEDY
After five hours on the road, she was finally found slumped over the wheel of her car in the driveway of a house she used to live in, with no recollection of her sleepy sojourn.
Senior sergeant Dave Litton said; “We’re asking for an urgent order forbidding her to drive and to seek medical advice on her suitability to holding a driving licence” .
“While her being found safe and well is a relief for everybody involved, the potential for tragedy was huge.
“We're urging people suffering medical conditions to be open and honest with their doctors and seek advice on whether the medication they are prescribed affects their ability to drive.” - AFP