A company PA who suffered a bout of ‘excited delirium syndrome’ after she was caught with a bag of cocaine following a car crash has been spared jail time. 

Hadiza Atunse, 25, was reportedly behaving ‘erratically and in an obstructive manner’ after her Toyota Auris smashed into a Mini Cooper and landed in a row of hedges on December 10 last year.

Once police arrived at the scene, Atunse was taken into custody after she failed to give a breath test or listen to instructions. Police then discovered the bag of Class A drugs in her possession and that she was driving without insurance.

At Crewe magistrates court Atunse, from Middleton in Greater Manchester, faced up to 51 weeks in jail but instead she was slapped with a £730 fine and a surcharge of £377 after the court heard that she suffered from a suspected case of bout of Acute Behavioural Disturbance (ABD) or excited delirium syndrome.

ABD causes extreme agitation, delirium, and often ‘autonomic dysfunction’ and is considered a major medical emergency which can lead to cardiac arrest and death.

The court heard she was not suspected of drug driving. 

Atunse who reportedly works as a personal assistant for a company based in Lancaster which cares for people with spinal injuries, was arrested at 10.30pm on December 10 last year after her car collided with a Mini Cooper in Wilmslow, Cheshire..

Christian Cooper, prosecuting, said: ‘Police found the Mini Cooper in the middle of a roundabout and the Toyota on the other side of the roundabout in some hedges.

Hadiza Atunse (pictured outside Crewe Magistrate Court) has avoided jail time after she reportedly suffered a bout of excited delirium syndrome  after she was caught with a bag of cocaine following a car crash

Atunse, a 25-year-old from Middleton in Greater Manchester, was taken into custody on Decmeber 11 last year after she failed to give a breath test or listen to instructions

‘The defendant was out of the Toyota when officers attempted to conduct the breathalyser procedure at the road side. She failed to provide a sufficient breath despite being given multiple opportunities.’

Mr Cooper added that Atunse was was then taken to Leighton Hospital, in Crewe, where she refused to provide a blood sample.

He continued: ‘An insurance check was carried out in respect of the vehicle and it was noted that the defendant’s insurance had expired approximately two weeks earlier on November 22.

‘With regard to previous convictions, the the defendant is of good character.’ 

Mr Cooper confirmed Atunse was not asked to provide a sample of saliva for a roadside drug wipe. 

In mitigation defence solicitor Sarah Bedford said: ‘There is going to be a significant impact when she loses her licence today. She works for people with spinal injuries and works one week on and one week off. She is reliant on being able to drive, to go out shopping and go to hospital appointments and so on and so forth.

‘She does not know how she is going to be able to manage that employment without that licence. Clearly she should have considered that before failing to provide a specimen.’

She added: ‘A police report showed that officers believed she was suffering from ABD which means that someone is in a hyper agitated and potentially vulnerable state. It can lead to loss of consciousness and in some cases death. That was the reason she was not detained in custody and taken to Leighton Hospital. She was in a very agitated and upset state.

‘She did not have much recollection of the entire process other than being very frightened and scared. She has accepted that she was in possession of cocaine on the day but says: ‘I need to get this out of the way and I need to get on with my life’.’

Atunse was also banned from driving for 22 months but given the opportunity to take the drink drive awareness course which if completed will reduce the ban by a quarter.