Woman who allegedly drove at pedestrians 'presents ongoing pattern': court

A repeat dangerous driver who allegedly drove her car at pedestrians "presents an ongoing pattern," a magistrate has said.

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Samantha Jane Campbell, 34, was denied bail when she faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, October 26.

Samantha Jane Campbell on a previous occasion. Picture by Olivia Ireland

She did not enter pleas to new charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and driving while disqualified as a repeat offender.

About 11.30am on Thursday, police received reports of a woman allegedly driving a silver Nissan Tida dangerously in Ainslie.

Police arrived at Officer Crescent and saw the Nissan in a driveway. Campbell, who was allegedly behind the wheel, accelerated away, narrowly missing two pedestrians, before continuing along a footpath.

During an ensuing police pursuit, Campbell allegedly drove through Ainslie at excessive speed, repeatedly crossed onto the wrong side of the road and ran a red light.

About 15 minutes later, police lost sight of the vehicle and stopped the pursuit. The Nissan was found shortly afterwards in Braddon.

Campbell was arrested on Saturday after police spotted her while in Reid for an unrelated matter.

On Monday, a prosecutor opposed bail, citing a likelihood of Campbell committing further crimes and endangering the safety and welfare of the community.

The prosecutor said the allegations involved "incredibly dangerous" driving by a woman who had been disqualified for more than two years.

The court heard Campbell had 18 entries in her criminal history for driving related crimes, including three convictions for aggravated dangerous driving.

Legal Aid duty lawyer Pia Beohm argued a "strict regime of bail conditions" would ameliorate risks.

Ms Beohm said the prosecution case was "weaker than usual" and based on identification evidence from two witnesses.

The lawyer told the court that while Campbell was unemployed and receiving Centrelink payments, she was looking for work in childcare.

"Since her last interactions with the criminal justice system she has been engaging with supports in the community," Ms Beohm said.

"[Campbell has] made a lot of progress since she was last before the court.

"Prior offending does not dictate that there will be further offending."

Magistrate Ian Temby denied bail and said he didn't "have confidence that the defendant will comply" with conditions.

The case is set to return to court in November.

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