Reckless driver caught speeding at 88mph through Daresbury

Zuzanna Kozlowska was clocked by an undercover police officer racing through the town centre streets at nearly triple the speed limit.

The 19-year-old appeared before Warrington Magistrates Court last Thursday (April 25) without a defence barrister, facing one count of dangerous driving.

Prosecuting, Nicola Parr said the incident took place on October 19.

The officer, who was driving an unmarked police car, noticed the defendant driving her Seat Ibiza at excessive speeds on Winwick Road at approximately 10.36pm.

“She was travelling in lane one at speed and then cut across the bend,” Ms Parr said.

“The lights changed to green and the vehicle in lane one was travelling quicker than in lane two.

“She moved into lane one, cutting between the cars and squeezing through a small gap and then accelerating at high speed.”

Zuzanna Kozlowska (Image: Social Media)

Kozlowska then moved off a green traffic light at Bridge Foot and accelerated in lane one, taking over a vehicle in lane two while accelerating to 40mph.

She was held at Bridge Foot traffic lights before speeding around a bend and running a red light before travelling around the roundabout at speed and in the wrong lane, which the police officer described as being ‘in a racing line’.

Ms Parr said the teen driver entered onto Chester Road, describing it as a ‘built up area’ where conditions were ‘dark’ and there was ‘reduced viability’.

“She accelerated at 50mph on a 30 zone, climbing up to speeds of 70mph.”

Kozlowska’s decisions worsened as she drove the vehicle onto the opposite side of the carriageway, only realising her error when she was ‘met with headlights’ of oncoming cars.

The 19-year-old switched back into the correct lane on the carriageway and continued to drive at speeds of 60mph in a 30mph zone, before reaching Gainsborough Road where she continued at speed.

She drove over the swing bridge in Warrington, it was heard, and then regained speeds of 61 mph in the 40mph zone, taking a bend at approximately 68mph.

“The defendant then went up a hill and over a bridge at 68mph in a 50mph zone.”

The prosecutor said at one point the defendant reached speeds of 81mph, despite the speed limit still being set at 50mph.

“She took a left-hand bend at 82mph and turned the car around a bend, passing oncoming vehicles at 80mph. She accelerated again to 88mph in a 50 zone as she came to a T Junction at the A56, Daresbury,” Ms Parr told the court.

Continuing to speed at 74mph on the A56 where speed restrictions sit at 40mph, Kozlowska was eventually requested to stop by the undercover officer, which she complied to and pulled into a lay-by.

The officer conducted a breathalyser test to determine if she was under the influence of alcohol and a reading came back that triggered a warning sign on the dashboard but was not high enough to be deemed over the limit.

Kozlowska, who was accompanied by two people in court, addressed the chair of the bench with no official representation from a defence barrister.

She said in reference to her offending, “I am really sorry, I should never have got into that car and drove under the influence.

“I just was really not in the right state of mind at the time.”

Concluding the sentencing, chair of the bench, Peter Hall said: “It is clear to use that the events of that night pass the custody threshold.”

Kozlowska, of Stanney Lane, Chester, was disqualified from driving for 20 months and handed a six-month jail sentence suspended for 24 months.

She was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work, as well as to carry out 15 to 20 rehabilitation requirement days.

“If you breach this, you are one step away from a custodial sentence,” he added.