Who is Dale Palmer? Drunk mom, 58, runs over daughter, 27, who was dragged under vehicle 'screaming in agony'
An Australian woman has been accused of running over her daughter while drunk before dragging her down the street. As per the police, Dale Palmer struck her 27-year-old daughter Keely Palmer with the vehicle and dragged her about 100 meters down Ash Avenue in Caringbah South, a suburb located on the Port Hacking coastline in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales.
Emergency services were called in the early hours of Sunday morning, May 2. They found Keely Palmer trapped beneath a Toyota Starlet. Emergency services reportedly worked for more than an hour to free her before she was taken to St George Hospital in a serious condition with significant injuries to her right leg and right arm.
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Who is Dale Palmer?
The 58-year-old mother of four was reportedly almost three and a half times the legal limit when she got behind the wheel of the car following a party at their home. Palmer allegedly got behind the wheel of her car shortly after midnight on Sunday, April 2, after leaving her son's 21st birthday party.
She then reportedly hit her daughter Keely Palmer and dragged her underneath the vehicle before slamming on the brakes. Amber Wardrop-Barros, who lives near the street where the party was held, told the press that the young woman was left screaming in agony after being hit. "She was just bellowing, crying, screaming. It was pretty shocking," she told reporters. “You could just hear her screaming. People were saying, ‘Can someone get a jack’. So I thought maybe someone was stuck under a car.”
Another neighbor, Ryan, told the media that he heard music at the property but did not hear any conflict. At 2.30 am, he awoke and saw cops standing out the front. “I always see the bloke out the front gardening and the kids always go out on the boat. The woman may have been dropping the kids off and then came back. They seem like a nice family,” he said.
It is believed that her daughter had tried to stop her before her car allegedly struck her. Palmer was taken to Sutherland Police Station, where she returned an alleged breath analysis reading of 0.166. For context, at a level of 0.15, balance and movement are impaired. There is also a risk of blackouts, accidents, nausea, and passing out. Her licence has been suspended.
She was also reportedly charged with aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm (PCA or Prescribed concentration of alcohol), and high-range PCA. As per news reports, Palmer was granted conditional bail and is due to appear in Sutherland Local Court next Wednesday, May 12.
“It’s most certainly difficult circumstances for police to attend,” Chief Inspector Gary Ford said. “We’re hoping to get some information from anyone who may have been at that party throughout the night.”