Family of a newborn sent flying from her car seat after a drunk Lexus driver smashed into five parked vehicles respond to shock sentence

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 13:47, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 13:58, 6 August 2026 The family of a newborn ejected from her capsule after a drunk driver who ploughed into five parked cars has expressed shock that the woman has been spared jail time over the chardonnay-fuelled rampage. Elizabeth Jane Bourgeois, 63, was more than five times over the legal limit when her Lexus careened into the vehicles in a Coles car park in Turramurra on Sydney's upper north shore in March. The impact ejected a newborn from her car seat in one of the vehicles she crashed into. Bourgeois appeared in Hornsby Local Court on Thursday after she previously pleaded guilty to negligent and high range drink driving. She received a 12 month suspended sentence - which means she won't spend a day behind bars. Confronting dashcam of the carnage showed Bourgeois throwing an empty wine bottle into a garden bed before getting into the driver's seat of her Lexus. While trying to reverse out, she hit five parked cars before a passer-by intervened by taking her keys and called police. Joshua Quaife had been unbuckling his five-week-old daughter Florence from her car seat when Bourgeois ploughed into his vehicle. Elizabeth Bourgeois (above) was five times the legal blood alcohol limit when she crashed into five parked cars at a carpark in Turramurra in March Dashcam footage showed Bourgeois throwing an empty wine bottle into a garden bed before ploughing into five vehicles (above) Five-weeld old Florence was ejected from her car seat during the chaos Little Florence was thrown from her seat but, thankfully, wasn't seriously injured. 'It was very traumatising to see her like that,' Mr Quaife told Nine News at the time. 'If it was a few seconds earlier, I would have been holding her getting her out of the car, and would have been crushed. 'It was lucky I was two or three seconds too slow to settle her.'  Bourgeois later returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.268.  Mr Quaife told the Daily Mail on Thursday night he was 'surprised she only lost her licence for six months'.  'It doesn't send a great message to the community that someone can get behind the wheel at high range, cause thousands of dollars in damage but be back on road in six months' time,' he said. Mr Quaife confirmed the family is yet to receive an apology from Bourgeois In handing down her sentence, the judge described the incident as a serious example of drink driving, adding that it was lucky no one was badly injured. On top of her suspended sentence, Bourgeois was fined $300 and disqualified from driving for six months. She must also pay for damages and is banned from drinking alcohol during her 12-month suspended sentence. Flanked by two supporters, Bourgeois was tight-lipped when confronted by reporters outside court. She also ignored questions as to whether she will apologise to Florence and her parents.