AssetID: 55911201
Headline: Moment drunk mum crashes car into home forcing terminally ill nan to live in Premier Inn for six months
Caption: WORDS BYLINE: Elli Hodgson This is the moment a drunk driver ploughed into a terminally ill grandmother’s home, forcing her into a Premier Inn for six months. Tamara Bowen was twice the drink-drive limit when she crashed into Jill Robson’s bungalow in Strood, Kent, last October. The 44-year-old has now been handed a suspended sentence having previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol level of 222 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood. The footage, which was played during her sentencing hearing at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court, shows the moment Bowen’s silver Vauxhall Astra careered into a parked Volkswagen Polo, pushing it a short distance, before hitting the home. The court heard how the vehicle became embedded in the wall, causing significant structural damage. Kent Fire and Rescue Service deemed the property too “structurally insecure” to live in. Jill, who has terminal leukaemia, had to live in a Premier Inn until May 1 when it was finally safe to return. Police body-worn footage was also played to the court, and showed officers checking on Bowen and asking her what had happened. She responds from between the seats and the airbags, saying “I don’t know”, before telling the officer she doesn’t need an ambulance. She can then be seen leaving the vehicle with paramedics, wearing a jumper and joggers. The court heard she later told them she had been drinking at home before the 8pm incident. Prosecutor Lucie Fish said: “She [Bowen] was going to collect her children. If it had been 10 minutes earlier, Jill would have been in her room. She could have been seriously hurt.” In her victim impact statement, Jill said: “This incident has completely turned my life upside down. I have terminal leukaemia…living in this hotel has made everything so much worse.” She previously described how she was in her kitchen when she heard a “bang” and “crash”, but thought a picture might have fallen off the wall - only to discover part of the bumper of a car was now inside her bedroom. Helgaardt Strydom, defending, told the court that mum-of-two Bowen was of previous good character and had entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. He said: “She tried to move or fix the carpet in the footwell while she was driving and that was the main reason the accident took place.” Mr Strydom explained Bowen had come out of an abusive relationship and drinking had become a “coping mechanism”. He told the court she had since recognised the drinking problem and engaged with The Forward Trust, a charity that helps people with drug and alcohol dependence. As the defence solicitor explained that Bowen risked losing her own house because her husband had not been paying the mortgage, she began to cry. Upon sentencing, the presiding magistrate, Hilary Giles, said the starting point for dangerous driving was 18 months’ custody, but gave credit for the early guilty pleas, bringing it to 12 months’ custody. The magistrate noted the Sentencing Act 2026 means any custodial sentence of 12 months or less must be suspended. Bowen, of Poplar Lane, Strood, was given a 12-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, and an alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement for 120 days, which uses an electronic ankle tag that tests sweat. She was also given an interim driving ban on June 18, which the court extended until October 18, 2028. She must carry out 15 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions. She was also ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge and a contribution to prosecution costs of £85, which she will repay at a rate of £20 a month. Speaking outside court last Thursday, 84-year-old Jill detailed the impact of living in the Premier Inn in Medway Valley Park. She said: “I did feel as though I was doing her [Bowen’s] time, because I was in one room, I had a bed and a shower, and a television and a kettle. “I felt like I was the guilty one and have done six months. I couldn’t go and make a sandwich, or bake a cake. I had to keep going out to the front to get fresh air because I couldn’t even open a window. “All that time [Bowen] got to be home, she could be with her family, she could come and go as she wanted and go and visit people. She still had her freedom; she could still get into her car and drive wherever she wanted, it hadn’t affected her life. Christmas, she could have with her family; I couldn’t, the same with Easter. “In the background I will always have that fear, will it happen again? That will always stay with me.” When Jill initially learned the sentence was likely to be suspended, she said it felt she was “getting off lightly”, but after the proceedings she described feeling “content”, adding: “She deserves every bit of it.” Now back home, the mum-of-three is happy justice has been served, but she’s still dealing with the effects of the crash. “I’m still not sleeping at night,” she added. “I don’t think she’s sorry; she doesn’t show any remorse or regrets at all. How can a person do that when they’re going to pick up their children? You don’t do that sort of thing.” Jill says she broke down twice while living out of a hotel room, but she expressed her gratitude for the team who kept her spirits up. “If it wasn’t for the staff, I don’t think I’d have survived it. Those staff and guests were what got me through it.”
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PersonInImage: Officers were called to Cuxton Road in Strood at 8.11pm on Sunday, October 19