A Newport woman is facing sentencing after pleading guilty to high-range drink driving, following a crash at a Newport shopping precinct that left her vehicle perched at a sharp angle atop commercial rubbish bins.
The incident, involving a Newport woman and her Mitsubishi Outlander, unfolded in the Foamcrest Avenue car park, behind shops on Barrenjoey Road, on the afternoon of 2 September 2026. The vehicle broke through a fence and dropped around 1.5 metres onto garbage bins below, coming to rest at roughly a 45-degree angle.
Leanne Bartle, 42, of Newport, appeared at Manly Local Court on Wednesday, 16 September, where she pleaded guilty to the charge. A breath test taken following the crash recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.237 — more than four times the legal limit of 0.05.
According to a police facts sheet tendered to the court, Bartle had been drinking at an Avalon Beach home from around 1pm before getting behind the wheel that afternoon. She told officers she had consumed a bottle of beer and a Bacardi and Coke made with three shots of rum.
A witness who had been driving behind Bartle along Foamcrest Avenue described seeing the vehicle crossing a traffic island, going over a roundabout, mounting the kerb and swerving significantly before the driver turned into the car park. That witness contacted police via triple-0. At least three other bystanders reported hearing the crash and witnessing the vehicle’s final resting position. Members of the public helped Bartle out of the vehicle before police arrived.
The crash occurred at approximately 3.45pm.
Judge Daniel Reiss adjourned the matter to allow time for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Bartle is due to return to court in October.
Published 17-September-2026
