A woman admitted this Wednesday before an Australian court that she tried to evade a driving ticket by accusing a pilot who had died days before in a helicopter accident of a traffic violation, local media reported. On December 15, a police camera captured Stephanie Louise Bennett, 33, behind the wheel of her car while she was talking on the phone, a traffic violation punishable by more than 1,000 Australian dollars (660 US dollars or 600 euros ).
However, the defendant, after receiving the fine in mid-January, appealed the punishment online, arguing that someone else was driving instead of her and used the details of the obituary of Ashley Jenkinson, who died on January 2 – along with other three people – when the helicopter he was flying crashed near the Sea World entertainment complex in the eastern city of Brisbane. Jenkinson’s partner was the one who notified the authorities after receiving the fine weeks after her death.
This Wednesday, Bennett pleaded guilty in court to charges of fraud and identity theft, although he will have to wait until May 19 to hear his punishment, the Australian agency AAP reported.
During the hearing, the defendant, who according to her version tried to reverse her appeal a day after sending it, read an apology and expressed her regret for what happened.
