A self-proclaimed Geelong witch told a traffic cop she was not subject to earthly laws as she was "a being from another world". "Your laws and penalties don't apply to me. I'm not accepting them, I'm sorry, I must go, thank you," Eilish De Avalon said, driving off with the officer's arm caught in her driver's side door. The alien defence was played out in Geelong Magistrates' Court yesterday when De Avalon, who had also told police she "had a universal name that is not recognised here", pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury, dangerous driving and driving while suspended, using a mobile phone while driving and failing to stop on police request on February 23. "De Avalon was a suspended driver and that is why she took off," Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said.
The court heard that the policeman had feared for his life when De Avalon drove off with his right arm pinned in her car window. Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said De Avalon ignored repeated calls to stop and instead accelerated, reaching up to 60km/h as she dragged Leading Senior Constable Andrew Logan 190m along busy Moorabool St. De Avalon had only stopped after being forced to slow in traffic and the officer grabbed the keys from her ignition. De Avalon, 40, a marriage celebrant, of Victory Way, Highton, had initially been stopped after she was seen using a mobile phone while driving about 10.40am.
"When asked to produce her driver's licence, De Avalon replied that she did not have one," Sen-Constable Lamb said. "When asked why not, she said, 'I'm a being from another world and don't require one.' When asked to state her name and address De Avalon replied, 'I have a universal name that is not recognised here'." Sen-Constable Lamb said that when asked for ID, De Avalon said, "Your laws and penalties don't apply to me. I'm not accepting them, I'm sorry, I must go, thank you."
De Avalon began to wind her window up and Sen-Const Logan reached through in an attempt to remove the keys from her ignition. She continued to wind the window up pinning the officer's right arm to the door frame. "She then drove off dragging him along with her."
Sen-Constable Lamb said Sen-Constable Logan clung to the window with his left hand to prevent his body being dragged along and his legs from going under the wheels. The policeman suffered serious injuries to his right arm, shoulder and chest and is expected to undergo further surgery to repair torn ligaments in his shoulder. David Hone, for De Avalon, told the court his client had panicked that day. He described her behavior as the result of an instinctive reaction and being in some sort of "metaphysical state". The prosecutor called for an immediate custodial sentence saying De Avalon was lucky not to be in a higher court or the Coroner's Court. Magistrate Stephen Myall adjourned the matter for sentencing on August 6.
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