Documents released to the public have shed more light on the aftermath of Mayor Karen Williams’ drink-driving crash and the extent of damage caused to her council car.
The long-serving mayor crashed her council vehicle into a tree at Cleveland on June 23 last year, hours after the annual budget was handed down.
She fronted Cleveland Magistrates Court in August 2022 where she was disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.
The court heard Cr Williams returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.177 after the crash.
New information about the crash aftermath has recently come to light, including confirmation that council received a $53,686 insurance payout for the damaged vehicle.
Photos contained in documents released under the Right to Information Act show damage to the front of Cr Williams’ council-owned Lexus.
The documents reveal council successfully argued in an insurance claim that it “may be covered as we had no reason to suspect the mayor would drink drive as contrary to council policies”.
A council spokeswoman said Cr Williams had “fully reimbursed council for the insurance excess and repairs to the damaged fence”.
“Regarding the Redland City Council vehicle involved in the accident at the intersection of Queen and Wellington streets … council was successfully reimbursed for the vehicle through its insurer Zurich …” she said.
Documents contained in the Right to Information release confirm Cr Williams paid a $2000 excess fee and $583 to repair a fence that was damaged in the crash.
Cr Williams said in a statement that she had paid for all costs associated with the incident and there had been no expense to ratepayers.
“I won’t let anyone’s dogged obsession with a single mistake made over a year ago deter me from making Redlands Coast a better place for future generations,” she said in a statement to Redland City News.
Cr Williams has announced she will run again at the local government elections in 2024, where she is gunning for a fourth straight term.
She declared in a recent interview that continuing to deliver on her vision for the city and advocating for the next generation were driving her bid for re-election.
