After strapping her daughter into a booster seat and putting a half-drunk bottle of wine in the centre console, Holly Pattison set off in her car to Napier.

But the 36-year-old barely made it out of Hamilton before she strayed over the centre line and crashed into another vehicle.

The 6-year-old girl suffered critical injuries, while the driver of the other car was off work for a “considerable” amount of time.

Pattison appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday for sentencing on two charges of driving causing injury with an excess blood alcohol level and ill-treatment of a child after the crash on December 15 last year.

Her lawyer, Catriona Kunac, managed to persuade Judge Glen Marshall not to send Pattison to prison.

‘Three times the limit’

It was about 9.15pm when Pattison was heading south on Cambridge Rd, between the suburb of Hillcrest and the Waikato Expressway.

Pattison had her daughter in the front passenger seat strapped into a booster seat.

At the same time, a 19-year-old man driving north exited the expressway on to Cambridge Rd, travelling about 75km/h.

Pattison failed to negotiate a sweeping right-hand corner and veered across into the centre lane.

The other driver unsuccessfully tried to avoid the crash by swerving but the cars collided, suffering irreparable damage.

When inspected, Pattison’s speedometer was locked at 100km/h and a half-empty bottle of wine was in the centre cup holder.

She returned a blood alcohol level of 183mg. The legal blood alcohol limit is 50mg.

The child suffered a lacerated liver, broken collarbone, broken humerus bone, and a head injury and was taken to Starship children’s hospital in a critical condition.

The other driver suffered a fractured vertebra and concussion, and was off work for a “considerable amount of time”.

Pattison admitted she’d been drinking and said she was driving to Napier, but didn’t say why her daughter was in the front passenger seat.

‘The child has made a full recovery’

Kunac said the child had since made a “full recovery”, while Pattison would soon have surgery on a lower vertebrae injured in the crash.

She had also done an initial assessment with Care NZ and so far done 100 volunteer hours at a Hamilton charity.

‘This could have ended in tragedy’

Judge Marshall noted Pattison had one previous conviction – drink-driving from 2016.

As for the recent offending, the aggravating features were the harm to the victims, the premeditation, her high blood reading and the fact she was travelling “a considerable distance” to Napier.

You of all people, Miss Pattison, would realise that this could have ended up far more tragically than it did.

“Everyone could have died in that crash or suffered more severe injuries, which potentially affected them for life.

“I think you have now come to the conclusion that your drinking was out of control and aspects of your life were perhaps out of control.”

Judge Marshall sentenced Pattison to nine months’ home detention, ordered her to pay $1500 in emotional harm reparation, disqualified her from driving for 28 days until she had an alcohol interlock device installed and pay police and medical costs of $195.34.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.