14 DAY TRIAL // A woman from Hamilton, New Zealand has prompted a police search after sleepwalking and getting behind the wheel.
The Daily Mail reports that the unidentified woman drove off while fully asleep and ended up on a different coast.
Police were called in by a friend who reported her taking sleeping pills, dozing off, getting up and driving away right before midnight.
Her car was finally located in Tauranga at 4.55 am. She had driven 186 miles (300 km) and had ended up on the east coast.
“While all this was going on, police were scanning any reports of unusual or concerning driving as we attempted to find the Toyota and prevent a potential tragedy,” Senior Sergeant Dave Litton of Hamilton Police describes.
Officials had tracked the car in Otara near Auckland, at around 2 am, but the woman was gone when they got there.
She turned up next to her old home on the east coast, and she was discovered by her cousin as she was still sleeping.
“The woman's cousin found her asleep, slumped over the wheel. [...] When woken, she had absolutely no recollection of the events overnight,” Litton describes.
Police had been on the lookout for reports on erratic drivers, but it appears that she got in no accidents.
“While her being found safe and well is a relief for everyone involved, the potential for tragedy was huge and we're urging people suffering medical conditions to be open and honest with their doctors and seek advice on the medication they are prescribed,” Litton adds.
While she was unharmed after the incident, she might not be legally allowed to drive again until she gets her condition checked out.
“We have sought an urgent order forbidding her to drive and to seek medical advice on her suitability to remain holding her driver’s license,” Litton says.