Drunk Woman Who Drove Down Footpath, Hit Bus Stop Claimed Her Dog Was Behind Wheels

A woman, who was detained by the cops for driving her car onto footpath and hitting a bus stop in a drunken state in Wales, has claimed her dog was behind the wheels.

The incident took place on Feb. 15, and the woman appeared in court on Sept. 21 in connection with the incident.

On the day of the incident, 47-year-old Melissa Johanson had struggled to reverse out of a parking spot after leaving the Ocean Café Bar and Restaurant in Fishguard. After four failed attempts, she managed to reverse her car, but then swerved onto a footpath before colliding into a bus stop, meters away from a children's playground.

A bystander, who assumed Johanson was drunk, informed the cops, Wales Online reported.

Bystanders told the cops Johanson had a half-empty bottle of wine in the next seat, and was driving like nobody was around.

Prosecuting attorney Hannah George told the court the café staffers ran to alert the families on the footpath looking at Johanson's unhinged conduct.

"She eventually went onto the main road where she paused for several minutes," George said in court. "She then went to the Seaview Hotel and then went on to Tesco, where she was caught on CCTV footage."

"She was doing some shopping?" the judge asked in disbelief, to which George replied in affirmative.

Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident.

The court heard officers from the Dyfed Powys Police arrived at Johanson's home to arrest her, where they found the car substantially damaged, according to Wales Online.

"The officers then entered the property and were immediately hit with the smell of alcohol. She asked the police if they had any proof for her arrest and then said her friend had driven the car and also that her dog Lily drove the vehicle," George said.

Officers asked her to take a breath analyzer test, but she refused, and blamed the incident on her dog. The cops then took her into custody. She reportedly refused to provide the cops with a sample of her blood.

The defending attorney, Dean Pulling, argued Johanson has mental health issues and has been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder. Pulling added Johanson was a professional woman who had a good job with a food manufacturing company for 20 years, iTV reported.

For the latest conduct, the judge sentenced Johanson to 12 months, suspended for 18 months. Apart from this, she has been banned from driving for three years.

The woman was reportedly involved in another drunk driving incident in November 2021, as a result of which she was banned from driving.