A pregnant mother-of-two was sentenced to 18 months in prison for running over her sister while under the influence of more than twice the legal cocaine limit.
Lisa Bowden, 33, allegedly warned her younger sister Jade that she would kill her just seconds before mowing her down in her Vauxhall Astra and breaking her thighbone.
Her children, ages 10 and 12, were in the car when the incident occurred outside the Beef and Babes gym in Greenhithe, Kent.
Jade Bowden landed on the busy road after flying over the bonnet, hitting her forehead and narrowly avoiding being hit by a passing vehicle.
Lisa Bowden then drove away, leaving her sister seriously injured and ‘terrified’ that she would die, according to Maidstone Crown Court in Kent.
Lisa Bowden’s drug test resulted in 128 micrograms of the cocaine by-product benzoylecgonine when she was arrested. The legal maximum is 50.
Later, she claimed that the positive test result was caused by someone spitting in her mouth.
The sisters had reconciled, and Jade Bowden, who had recovered completely, had requested that her statement to the police be retracted.
Lisa Bowden is also 16 weeks pregnant, according to reports.
Regardless, a judge ruled that imprisonment was unavoidable.
Jailing her on Wednesday after she had previously admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, drug-driving, and having no insurance, Judge Oliver Saxby KC told the court she had ‘completely lost her temper’ that day.
Judge Saxby said: ‘The incident was your fault. It was you who had picked the argument, it was you who got angry, it was you who was unable to contain that anger, and it was you who drove at her. She could have died.
‘She could easily have also been run over by the other car.
‘We have watched the video clip and it’s a miracle she wasn’t and was just brushed by it.’
Explaining his decision not to suspend the prison term, Judge Saxby said there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation and custody would not impact her two children, who live with their father.
He told Lisa Bowden: ‘These offences are so serious that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.
‘I can well understand how your sister, here in court, wishes none of this happened and you weren’t being sent to prison.
‘But I have a wider duty to the public to ensure just punishment for crimes that are committed.’
At the end of the hearing, Jade Bowden could be heard crying in the public gallery.
Lisa Bowden, of Wiltshire Close in Dartford, Kent, was also banned from driving for 33 months.
She has a previous conviction for driving without a licence and a reprimand for common assault.
The court heard that there was ‘bad blood’ between the siblings after Lisa Bowden began dating one of Jade Bowden’s friends’ ex-partner.
According to Prosecutor John Connor, Lisa Bowden drove to a friend’s house on the afternoon of December 14, last year, where there was arguing and shouting.
Lisa Bowden’s children were in the back of the Astra when they became distressed, and their aunt, Jade, went to comfort them.
However, the court heard that her sister was upset by the ‘intrusion.’
‘The prosecutor stated:
She informed her sister “Get out of my car and away from my children. I’m going to murder you. Keep still. I’m going to hit you.”
‘She looked angry, was gritting her teeth and then moved off, spinning the wheels of her Astra and hitting Jade’s left leg, causing a fractured femur, concussion and quite extensive bruising.’
The incident was captured on CCTV and played during the sentencing hearing.
As well as a fractured leg, for which she required surgery to fit a metal plate and screws, Jade Bowden suffered a sprain to her right leg and bruising to her head and body.
She told police at that time that the incident had had a ‘huge effect’ on her mental health.
But Mr Connor said that when police spoke to her more recently, she said she was ‘all better’, and then asked if it was ‘too late’ to retract her statement.
Alexa Le Moine, defending, said Lisa Bowden would ‘take her actions back in a heartbeat’.
‘Not only was her behavior out of character, but she is still disgusted with herself for doing that to her sister, whom she adores, and with her children in the car,’ Ms Le Moine added.
Despite Lisa Bowden’s claims of remorse and regret, Judge Saxby dismissed them as ‘newborn,’ adding that she had ‘lied’ to the author of her pre-sentence report and that there was no evidence to support her claims of suffering from PTSD or engaging with either mental health teams or social services.
source:nsemwokrom.com
