Casualty and Holby City star pleads guilty to driving offences as drug-fuelled crash leaves nurse seriously injured
19 March 2025, 17:06 | Updated: 19 March 2025, 17:21
An actor who has starred in Casualty and Holby City has admitted to drug driving after a horror collision left a nurse involved in the crash with serious injuries.
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In January 2024, Amanda Mealing got behind the wheel of her Mini Cooper with cocaine in her system. At 10.45am, The BBC drama star skidded across a road before slamming into a Skoda belonging to Mark Le Sage.
The actress suffered a cut to the head, a broken wrist and a broken clavicle. Mr Le Sage, a theatre nurse who was on his way to work at the time, suffered serious injuries and is still feeling the effects 14 months later.
In fact, he has reportedly been forced to stop working as his fine motor skills were left severely affected, according to the Mailonline.
He also said he is no longer able to play water polo and has been forced to purchase a lighter keyboard and hire a PA company to allow him to continue playing in local band Zebra, reports the Spalding & South Holland Voice.
Mr Sage shared how he remembered "an explosion and his car began to spin' after Mealing's vehicle slammed into his car on the A1175 at Hop Pole, near Stamford in Lincolnshire.
Read more: Third teenager dies after horror crash in West Midlands as one left fighting for life
"He started to panic, the car was full of smoke and he couldn't get out because his foot was stuck under the pedal," a court heard.
Mealing, 57, admitted to driving with cocaine in her system and driving without due care and attention and was banned from driving for 22 months and ordered to pay a fine of £485.
A court heard how she had 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, with more than 240mcg of benzoylecgonine - the chemical that cocaine leaves after being metabolised by the body. This was almost five times over the legal limit of 50.
She had reportedly been visiting a friend where she took the drugs and stayed the night. She decided to drive home the morning after.
Mealing couldn't initially give any reason as to why her car was left demolished on the wrong side of the road, a court head.
But paramedics at the scene thought she was having a hypoglycaemic attack as her blood glucose levels were alarmingly low, which could have been the cause of the accident.
The actress, who has also featured in shows including Waterloo Road and Coronation Street, appeared in court under her married name of Amanda Sainsbury.
She is not currently working and that she is receiving a 'token salary' of £935 a month from her employer, the court heard.
