Former Jamaican judge Ingrid Mangatal pleads guilty to drunk driving in Cayman Islands

Former judge of the Jamaican Supreme Court Ingrid Mangatal has pleaded guilty in the Cayman Islands to driving under the influence of alcohol and careless driving.

Mangatal, who is a Grand Court judge in the Cayman Islands, was fined a total of CI$600 and her driver’s licence suspended for a year.

The Cayman Compass reports that the court heard that Justice Mangatal subconsciously drove for several miles in her night clothes before crashing her car into a concrete barrier.

It says Justice Mangatal told police in the aftermath of the accident that she had no recollection of the episode, which medical experts testified could have been caused by a mixture of alcohol and anti-anxiety medication.

Speaking on her behalf during the Summary Court hearing, attorney Ben Tonner said Mangatal recalled having three glasses of wine with dinner on the night in question before getting ready for bed.

The newspaper says in court, prosecutors described how she drove her vehicle across the carriageway on West Bay Road, mounted the curb and collided with a barrier close to Governors Square on September 4 last year.

She was subjected to a breathalyzer test and found to have a blood-alcohol level above the limit.

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