A Hunter Valley woman who rammed a New South Wales Police car and led officers on a pursuit with two children in her vehicle will spend a year in prison.
An undercover officer attempted to pull over 32-year-old Kristy Melksham over five outstanding warrants on the morning of May 3.
They parked in front of her car at Muswellbrook Fair shopping centre.
Police said she hit the bumper of the police car and drove away dangerously, narrowly avoiding other vehicles.
Her two children, aged 13 and 14, were in the car.
She ran a red light at the busy intersection of Sydney and Maitland streets, before crashing into a power pole on Francis street where she was arrested.
A drug test returned a positive result to methamphetamines in her system.
Melksham was sentenced for 14 offences spanning back to 2021, which she had already pleaded guilty to earlier this month.
They included police pursuit — not stop and drive recklessly/furiously, goods in personal custody suspected being stolen and take and drive conveyance without consent of owner in regard to the May chase.
She was sentenced in Muswellbrook Local Court by Magistrate Kevin Hockey, on Tuesday.
He said the offences were "serious" and there was "certainly a need to protect the community".
One of her outstanding matters included an incident in February where she was confronted by a woman and her family in the car park of Muswellbrook Marketplace.
They accused Melksham of stealing number plates belonging to the woman.
Members of the public and shopping centre employees attempted to help and Melksham hit a worker in the arm with her rear view mirror while escaping.
The defence said Melksham knew "she shouldn't have done these things" and her behaviour was "spur of the moment, rather than planned activity".
Magistrate Hockey took the early guilty plea into account and sentenced her to 18 months in prison.
She will be eligible for parole after 12 months.
