A Casualty star smashed into a nurse in a horror crash after taking cocaine before getting behind the wheel of her Mini.
Casualty star Amada Mealing smashed into a nurse (Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
A Casualty star smashed into a nurse in a horror crash after taking cocaine before getting behind the wheel. Soap star Amanda Mealing, who also appeared as cardio thoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp on Holby City, swerved across the road in her Mini when she hit Mark Le Sage’s vehicle as he drove to work in Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire.
The BBC star was pleaded guilty to drug driving and driving without due care and attention. She has been banned from driving for 22 months and was ordered to pay a fine of £485. On Wednesday (March 19), the court heard the how the horror unfolded last January at around 10.14am after the actor had taken the cocaine the night before. She was found to have 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, with the legal limit being 10mcg. The TV star also had almost five times the legal limit of benzoylecgonnie – the chemical that cocaine leaves after being metabolised by the body – in her system.
The BBC star pleaded guilty to drug driving (Image: PA)
Mealing, who left Casualty in March 2021 after seven years on the show, suffered a cut to the head, a broken wrist, and a broken clavicle. Mr Le Sage told how he remembered an “explosion and his car began to spin” after the actress smashed into his Skoda.
Prosecutor Marie Stace said: “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 get out and was assessed by a paramedic who 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 otherside of the carriageway”. The court heard how Mr Le Sage was left unable to work as a theatre nurse after his motor skills were severely affected.
He also revealed he can no longer enjoy his hobbies as a keyboard player in a local band called Zebra, and cannot play water polo anymore. Mr Le Sage, who is also a district councillor, still suffers from flashbacks and has problems with his sight and hearing.
Mealing left Casualty back in March 2021 after seven years on the popular BBC medical show. The court was told she was suffering at the time of the crash due to the death of her father and her dog. She was driving home from a friend’s house where she had taken cocaine hours before the crash took place.
The soap star has not been able to offer any explanation over why her car drifted to the other side of the road. Paramedics at the scene thought she was having a hypoglycemic attack because her blood glucose levels were dramatically low, which could have been the cause of the accident.
Her solicitor Edward 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”.
The courst heard she is not currently working and is receiving a “token salary” of £935 a month from her employer. Speaking after the hearing, Mr Le Sage said: “I’m glad it’s over for my family and I’m so lucky and grateful for their support over what has been a very difficult time. I hope the Sainsbury family can now also get on with their lives”.