Woman high on nitrous oxide balloons whilst driving and hitting pedestrian is jailed
Louisa Tunstall of Lowton, Wigan, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for driving under the influence of nitrous oxide, causing serious injury to a pedestrian. The incident occurred in May 2024 when Tunstall, high on the drug, veered onto the pavement, hitting a 51-year-old woman, resulting in life-changing injuries. The victim, a previously active netball player, has suffered significant physical and mental health impacts, requiring full-time care. Tunstall was also banned from driving and must take an extended test upon release. Greater Manchester Police highlighted the dangers of nitrous oxide, now a banned Class C drug, and its impairing effects on driving.
Louisa Tunstall will spend the next 20 months behind bars after inhaling nitrous oxide behind the wheel and ploughing into a pedestrian, leaving the 51-year-old woman with life-changing leg injuries.
The 20-year-old, of Bradwell Road, Lowton, received her sentence at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting possession of a Class C drug, drug-driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. She was banned from the road for two years and eight months and must take an extended test before driving again.
The crash happened at 7 pm on 24 May 2024 as Tunstall drove her white Fiat 500 along Newton Road, Lowton, towards East Lancashire Road. Traffic was light and the sun still up when she leaned down to grab something from the foot-well, drifted on to the pavement and struck the woman before flipping the car.
Police recovered CCTV showing Tunstall inhaling from a balloon of nitrous oxide—outlawed in November 2023—seconds before impact. A forensic check found no mechanical defect in the Fiat. Officers said she had just bought the gas for personal use that evening.
In a victim statement read to the court, the injured woman—an avid netball player now unable to walk unaided—described losing her independence, her sport and her mental health. “I feel like she has turned my world upside down,” she said, urging others never to drive after taking the drug.
PC Stefan Bielizna of Greater Manchester Police’s Roads Policing Unit warned drivers that nitrous oxide “can severely impair your capability to drive” and pledged continued patrols targeting drugged and dangerous drivers.
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