A woman pulled over after almost crashing into a police car while breastfeeding her infant son was too drunk to submit to a breath test, police say. The Alice Springs woman, 19, was arrested in the central Australian town about 7pm (CST) on Saturday when she allegedly drove her Holden wagon from the car park of the Gap View Hotel and into the path of a patrol car, police said.

They pulled her over a short distance along Gap Road and allegedly found her breastfeeding the boy at the wheel. A Northern Territory police spokeswoman said the woman was unable to provide a breath sample to police at the scene when asked to do so. "She failed to blow into the breathalyser, which shows you how drunk she was,'' the spokeswoman told AAP.

The woman was charged with failing to provide a breath sample - a charge that in the NT is considered a serious offence, assuming automatically the person had a high-range blood alcohol concentration in their system, without the need for further evidence. Additionally, she was charged with driving while disqualified, driving an unregistered and uninsured motor vehicle, failing to give way and driving with a child under 12 months old who was unrestrained.

NT Police Superintendent Jamie Chalker said he was horrified by the report. "It is unimaginable that a mother could be so callous in her disregard for the safety of her child,'' he said in a statement. "As if it weren't bad enough to be so drunk behind the wheel that you almost run into a police car, it defies belief that she had no concept that her actions could have killed her child.

"I find it increasingly frustrating that people show so little responsibility for their actions, but this is without a doubt one of the most stupid and reckless actions I've come across. "People must take responsibility for their loved ones when they are clearly unable to make rational decisions for their own safety, the safety of others and the risk they pose to the general public".

The woman was bailed to appear in the Alice Springs Magistrates' Court on April 23.
From here:http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...005962,00.html