Crash driver Lorraine Barber walked away from her wrecked car leaving two injured passengers trapped upside down.
Barber, 41, had already driven away from another collision in which an 11-year-old boy was badly shaken, Basildon Crown Court was told.
The two crashes came only seven weeks after Barber, of Riverview Road, Benfleet, was convicted of careless driving.
The mother-of-four claimed she was dazed after the latest crash and denied being drunk.
She pleaded guilty at to dangerous driving. Charges of failing to stop after an accident and failing to provide a blood sample to police were dropped.
Prosecutor Martin Lickert said Barber had been drinking at Leigh with two friends and her boyfriend with whom she had an argument.
He left the group and the others made their way home with Barber at the wheel, driving erratically and ignoring at least two red traffic lights.
In Hadleigh, she put her foot down and crashed into a car with the schoolboy inside. Once their bumpers became disentangled, Barber drove off.
She continued to drive at high speed, zig-zagging across the road when she lost control. Her car rolled over several times and the two passengers were left dangling by their seat belts.
Barber wandered off and seemed oblivious to the accident, said Mr Lickert.
A woman passenger suffered two black eyes, a broken wrist and swollen ankle. A man with her got a fractured thumb and other injuries.
Barber's barrister, Andrew McGee, said she was under a lot of pressure. Her 16-year-old disabled daughter depended on her for around-the-clock care.
Barber was told by Judge Philip Clegg: "This was one of the worst cases of dangerous driving I have ever come across and I've come across a great many."
The judge said he was faced with a difficult decision over sentencing Barber because her daughter needed special attention and he was reluctant to jail her.
Instead, she received a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. She was also given an 18-month supervision order.
Barber, who has held a licence for 22 years, was banned from driving for four years and must take an extended driving test.
Published Tuesday, June 24, 2003
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