Victoria Parry smashed into three cars after downing a bottle of wine (Image: Paul Beard / SWNS)
Victoria Parry, 30, was told by Judge Sarah Buckingham that if she had been a man "it would have been straight down the stairs" to prison. The decision not to jail her provoked outrage from road safety campaigners. The judge now faces an investigation over her comments by the independent Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.
Parry, from Stratford-upon-Avon, was driving a Fiat Stilo when she almost caused a major crash by overtaking into oncoming traffic, Warwick Crown Court heard on Thursday.
She ploughed into three vehicles before plunging into a ditch where her car burst into flames.
Other drivers dragged her from the burning wreck after the crash on the A46 near Stratford-upon-Avon in May last year.
Parry admitted dangerous driving and the court was told she had two previous convictions for drink-driving. But Judge Buckingham deferred sentencing the shop manager for three months. "If Miss Parry was a man, there is no question it would have been straight down the stairs, because this is a shocking case of dangerous driving against a background of two previous convictions for excess alcohol," the judge said.
"But this offence was committed in May 2018 and she has not been in trouble since.
"She has clearly got an alcohol problem. She is, whether she admits it or not, an alcoholic."
Addressing Parry, the judge added: "You richly deserve an immediate custodial sentence of 18 months. I want to see whether you can really address the issues rather than paying lip service. If you succeed, I
