Michelle Lynne Buckley admits to drink-drive smash after Yallingup search for son James ‘Jimmy’ O’Reilly

A young mother whose toddler was found after going missing for 12 hours in dense bushland last year has tearfully admitted crashing her car just days later after a big drinking session. Michelle Lynne Buckley, who returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.167 after the September 21 crash, was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for 10 months in Mandurah Magistrate’s Court yesterday. “It was a very hard weekend for me, and I made stupid choices,” Buckley told the court. Her three-year-old son, James “Jimmy” O’Reilly, went missing from their Yallingup holiday home after wandering into the bush while she fed his younger brother Henry. The disappearance sparked a massive search in horrific weather, including hail, and had the entire State on tenterhooks. Jimmy, wearing only white Spiderman pyjamas and blue Wellington boots, was found late on the Saturday night. “I was just losing hope, I honestly thought we were going to … find him dead,” his mother said. “I didn’t think I was going to find him alive, I thought I was going to have to bury my son.” The court was told that later that night, when the ordeal was over, Buckley drank some wine. On the Monday, her partner Chris and their two children left the Karli Way home to return home, while Buckley stayed behind to “clear her head”. But the court was told Buckley again drank wine the next morning before getting behind the wheel of her Holden Commodore. She only made it 1km down the road before crashing into a tree about 1.45pm. Buckley had to be flown to a hospital where police took a blood test to check for alcohol and drugs. Buckley, who represented herself, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol. Magistrate Leanne Atkins said while she had been through a horrific experience, it was no excuse to drink and drive. “For any mother that is terrifying, but it does not excuse putting people at risk,” she said. “That is a significant (alcohol) reading for any person.”