Amber Rose Hodges: Woman pleads guilty to driving 96km/h over speed limit along Ennis Avenue in Port Kennedy

A woman clocked at 96km/h over the speed limit was hooning at such an excessive speed because she “was running late to pick up her children from school”, her lawyer has told a court. Not only was Amber Rose Hodges, 32, doing 176km/h in an 80km/h zone long Ennis Avenue in Port Kennedy on July 27, she also ran a red light. The mother pleaded guilty to reckless driving in Rockingham Magistrates Court on Friday. Duty lawyer Justin Geoghegan said Hodges had been running late to pick up her children from school. “She admits this was not an excuse and put other road users at risk,” Mr Geoghegan said. “She was unable to stop at the red traffic (light) because of how fast she was going.” Mr Geoghegan said that the incident was “unbelievable” and reiterated the seriousness of the charge, stating that “she could have deprived her children of their mum and another family of a loved one for that matter”. “Her mental health has significantly declined since the birth of her six-month-old baby,” Mr Geoghegan said. “She sold the car the day after the incident and plans to address the underlying issues.” Sgt Andrews said that over the years, there had been a number of serious and fatal accidents at the intersection. “This is a very serious incident of reckless driving,” he said. “Driving over 96km/h over the speed limit is unfathomable.” Last month it was announced that speed limits at all traffic light intersections would change to 70kmh/h throughout the State in an effort to prevent serious crashes and road incidents. In sentencing, Magistrate Heidi Watson said “the safety of the community is something I must take into account to deter other members from the community from committing offences such as this”. Hodges pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to a 16-month intensive supervision order, nine months disqualification and 75 hours of community service.