Teenager hit woman seconds after inhaling ‘hippy crack’ at wheel of her Fiat 500

A teenager who ran over a pedestrian just seconds after she inhaled nitrous oxide from a balloon at the wheel has been detained for 20 months.

CCTV footage captured Louisa Tunstall, 19, huffing on gold balloons full of ‘hippy crack’ while driving her Fiat 500 in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

Moments later the car veered onto the pavement and hit teaching assistant Tracey Holman, 50, who was out on her regular evening walk.

She was left severely injured in the impact with multiple fractures and injuries to her left leg, foot and ankle.

Almost a year on the keen netball player is still undergoing treatment for her injuries and says she is a ‘prisoner in her own home’ as she has to sleep in a downstairs room.

At Bolton Crown Court, Tunstall wept in the dock as she was ordered to be locked up in a Young Offender Institute for 20 months.

She admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, possession of class C drug nitrous oxide and driving while unfit through drugs.

The incident occurred at 7pm on May 24 last year after Tunstall had been out with friends.

Alex Beevers, prosecuting, said: ‘This is a case where ultimately the mere act of consuming nitrous oxide behind the wheel is obviously an inherently dangerous thing to do.

‘It is staggeringly dangerous driving.

‘Mrs Holman was out walking as she does every evening when she was suddenly and forcefully struck from behind.

‘On the floor she noted blood dripping down her left leg and saw a white car on its side and said it did not feel real.

‘The incident was witnessed in part by another woman, who was idling in her vehicle when she saw a Fiat 500 occupied by two females with the car appearing to be traveling in excess of the 30mph speed limit.

‘The driver was inhaling from a gold balloon. After the car crashed, she saw the same golden balloon deflated lying on the pavement.’

The prosecutor added: ‘Police attended, and the defendant said had been to purchase nitrous oxide for future use. She momentarily took her eyes off the road to retrieve something from the footwell.

‘Officers recovered two large cylindrical canisters from the vehicle which were sent away for forensic assessment.

‘Though the presence of nitrous oxide cannot be formally tested in the blood one of the significant aspects of the investigation was that one of the canisters weighed much less.

‘The weight of both canisters should be 2kg but one of the canisters was 1.6kg which suggested that one of them had been used and discharged.

‘There was also a nozzle inserted in the top of one of the canisters indicative of some use.

‘CCTV showed both the defendant and the passenger with two fully inflated gold balloons in their mouths moments before what occurred.’

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Holman said: ‘I would like to say that this incident has had a significant impact on not only my life but my family’s life.

‘As I cannot get upstairs, I need someone to be with me all of the time and my daughter has become my full-time carer which isn’t fair on her as she is currently studying at university.

‘When I think about the actions of the driver, I feel like she has turned my world upside down.

‘I have missed so much in my life, and I feel that she can just go about her business as normal with no understanding of the consequences for her actions.’

Judge Abigail Hudson told Tunstall: ‘Taking nitrous oxide with a balloon whilst driving a car is inherently dangerous.

‘It must be entirely obvious to you that doing that would put everyone around you at risk. Yet you deliberately ignored the rules of the road and had a total disregard for the risk of danger to others.

‘The result of your selfishness has been disastrous for Mrs Holman,

‘You are a very young woman and while your presence here is absolutely tragic, you caused damage to Mrs Holman and her family.

‘The message must be sent to the public that those who inhale nitrous oxide while driving will go to prison.’

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