Teen P-plater's long rap sheet of driving offences land her in court
A 19-year-old P-plate driver who is barely out of school has a rap sheet most drivers couldn't clock up in a lifetime.
South-west Sydney teenager Jessica Nguyen has racked up more than $8000 in fines in less than two years since getting her license.
She has been on police radar since July 2020, which is around the time she first got her P-plates.
South-west Sydney teenager Jessica Nguyen. A Current Affair
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Officers said since then she's been caught breaking the law 12 times — from speeding more than 45 kilometres over the limit to talking on her mobile phone and running red lights.
But even confiscating Ms Nguyen's license didn't seem to stop her.
She continued to collect demerit points before she was caught driving while suspended, twice in a month.
The teen has been on the police radar since July 2020, which is around the time she first got her P-plates. A Current Affair
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Things have now gone from bad to worse for Ms Nguyen, who is also being investigated for allegedly crashing her father's car before fleeing the scene right out the front of St George Police Station.
The damaged car reportedly belonged to a police employee.
"Clearly there is going to be people in the community, unfortunately, who think that the road rules don't apply to them," road safety expert Russell White told A Current Affair.
Road safety expert Russell White. A Current Affair
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"And for those people, you've got to have a much more serious level of consequences."
Mr White said drivers who disobeyed the rules were a ticking time bomb.
"You've got to look at it in the same way as we would if anybody was having not much regard for the deadly weapon that they're controlling," Mr White said.
"You've got to take that same level of hard-line stance to it."
Ms Nguyen cried as she was sentenced today for repeatedly getting behind the wheel while suspended.
Jessica Nguyen (left) and her lawyer (middle) outside court. A Current Affair
The court heard the teen's life had spiralled out of control since the death of her grandmother who raised her.
Ms Nguyen's own lawyer described her offending as "inexcusable ... repeated ... and that she has no concerns for what the police, or the court ask of her".
When asked outside court whether Ms Nguyen had learnt her lesson, her lawyer responded on her behalf.
"If one saw her emotions in court, one would say that she's learnt her lesson," her lawyer said.
"She's obviously very remorseful."
Ms Nguyen will be allowed back on the road in September.
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