BBC Casualty and Holby City star Amanda Mealing has admitted to drug driving, following a collision that left a nurse seriously injured. The actress, known for her role as Connie Beauchamp in the popular medical dramas, veered across the road and crashed into Mark Le Sage’s Skoda at 10.14am while he was on his way to work.
Prosecutor Marie Stace told the court that Mealing, 57, who appeared under her married name of Amanda Sainsbury, suffered a head cut, a broken wrist and a broken clavicle in the January 2024 accident. Mealing admitted to driving under the influence of cocaine and without due care and attention. The court also heard that the BBC star had 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, exceeding the legal limit of 10mcg. The actress has been banned from driving for 22 months and ordered to pay £485 in fines.
The court also found that Mealing had over 240mcg of benzoylecgonine, a chemical left in the body after metabolising cocaine, nearly five times over the legal limit of 50mcg.
Le Sage described hearing ‘an explosion’ and felt his car starting ‘to spin’. His Skoda was hit by Mealing’s Mini Cooper on the A1175 at Hope Pole, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, reports the Mirror.
Prosecutor Ms Stace revealed: “He started to panic, the car was full of smoke and he couldn’t get out because his foot was stuck under the pedal. He did manage to escape and a paramedic who assessed him said he needed to go to hospital. There was a witness following the Mini, who said he assumed there was something in the road because it went onto the other side of the carriageway.”
During a police interview, according to Ms Stace, Mealing admitted to having taken cocaine the night before. Le Sage, in a victim impact statement read out in court, stated that his fine motor skills have been seriously affected, preventing him from continuing his job as a theatre nurse.
Mealing’s solicitor, Mr Edward Lloyd, told the court that the defendant does not accept Le Sage’s account of his injuries, stating he wasn’t taken to hospital by ambulance, and there is no evidence of that level of injury. Mr Lloyd said: “In terms of the offence, my client pleaded guilty to drug driving at the very first opportunity.
“It’s something she’s deeply ashamed of. She’s not somebody who takes drugs at all. Her brother died of a drugs overdose when he was 18 and she says herself that she should have known better.”
Reflecting on her past, Mealing opened up in 2021 about the heartbreaking loss of her 32 year old brother to addiction. Speaking fondly of her adoptive sibling, she shared: “He was 14 years older than me, but we were incredibly close.”
Opening up to The Times, she said: “I think he had dabbled in drugs as a teenager. But it was just an accident. It was a real tragedy for everyone and, yes, it did influence me. It reminded me that life can be short and I thought there’s no point sitting around. Go out and live each day.”