Woman suspected of being 'super drunk' after driving in Saline on wheel rim
A 26-year-old Pontiac woman was arrested Sunday morning in Saline on suspicion of being a “super drunk” driver after she was seen driving with no tire on one of her wheels.
According to a Saline Police Department report, the woman was driving west on Michigan Avenue just before 9 a.m. Sunday when Officer Theo Helms observed there was no tire on her front passenger side wheel.
The woman did not seem to notice the fact that she was driving on a rim and was swerving slightly in the road, according to the report.
The woman was driving a black 1997 Buick and turned the car right onto Ann Arbor Street, according to the report. The car made a wide turn and went into the oncoming lanes of traffic before swerving back into the correct lane, the report stated. The woman continued to drive erratically as she drove northbound on Ann Arbor Street, according to the report.
Helms eventually pulled the woman over near Russell Street, according to the report. She had trouble finding the button to roll the window down and was smoking a cigarette during the stop, the report stated.
The woman’s eyes were watery and her speech was slurred, the report stated. The woman failed several tests for drunken driving and was arrested on suspicion of operating while intoxicated, according to the report.
When she was brought back to the station, the woman registered a .19 blood alcohol level, according to the report.
The woman eventually admitted she had been partying all night and drinking heavily, the report stated. She was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for an injured ankle, which she had hurt after falling down some stairs during the night, according to the report.
The woman did not know she was in Saline and believed she was in Canton, according to the report.
Police are not releasing the woman’s name because she has not been arraigned on any charges. Because she registered a .19 during the breathalyzer, she can face increased penalties if charged under Michigan’s so-called “super drunk” law. Anyone arrested with a blood alcohol level above .17 can be charged under the law and faces stiffer punishments than if charged with operating while intoxicated.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Hemenway
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 4:19 a.m.
Why didn't the driver get stopped immediately?
Rosemary Blackman
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 2:27 p.m.
I am surprised at the uninteresting way this report and most others are presented. How many times do we say "according to the report"?. Is journalism no longer taught?
dukeravenwood
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:47 p.m.
Did the vehicle have hydraulic suspension? Perhaps she thought she was in "3 wheel motion".
Homeland Conspiracy
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 7:41 p.m.
All my friends know the low rider The low rider is a little higher Low rider drives a little slower Low rider is a real goer Low rider knows every street yeah! Low rider is the one to meet yeah! Low rider don't use no gas now Low rider don't drive to fast
jondhall
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 12:54 p.m.
Maybe she dementia ?? So she turned right in Ann Arbor street I believe that was NORTH
UlyssesWrong1
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 10:46 a.m.
I've seen the term 'super drunk' being used recently, is it a new revelation that people are binge drinking in public and being dangerously drunk?
djm12652
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 6:59 p.m.
also known as stupid drunk
Ross
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 12:35 p.m.
No, it's just a label created for people driving with BAC's above 0.18.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 7:11 a.m.
" She had trouble finding the button to roll the window down and was smoking a cigarette during the stop." -- Hmm, isn't smoking a five-year felony offense in Washtenaw County? Wait, smoking during a traffic stop must be a capital crime in Washtenaw County. Poor woman, she's gonna die by lethal injection! (or will wish she had once the hangover kicks in).
nickcarraweigh
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:39 a.m.
She heard good things about the big football museum in Canton, and word was there was a good Chinese take-out place, too.
Ron Granger
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:12 a.m.
The wheels on the Buick go round and scrape round and scrape round and scrape The siren on the police car goes round and round round and round round and round The needle on the breath machine goes up, up, up up, up, up up, up, up up, up, up So early in the morning!
Ann English
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:11 a.m.
You mean she was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital? It's right near where she was pulled over. If she knew there was a St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to the left of the road she had just turned onto, I imagine she thought she had turned off Michigan Avenue in Canton and got on Canton Center Road. There is a St. Joseph Mercy Hospital on the left side of the northbound lane of Canton Center, opposite Palmer Road.
slave2work
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 3:22 a.m.
She had no clue where she was,, much less a hospital.
Ricardo Queso
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 12:14 a.m.
Talk about three sheets to the rim!
Doug
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:33 p.m.
Great retort.
Ron Granger
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:13 a.m.
Well turned.
JGS
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:09 a.m.
:golf clap:
Ben
Tue, May 1, 2012 : 11:49 p.m.
That must have been one awesome party.
Homeland Conspiracy
Tue, May 1, 2012 : 11:02 p.m.
"Helms eventually pulled the woman over" I guess driving on 3 tires isn't enough reason to pull her over. Luckily no one was hurt or killed when she "made a wide turn and went into the oncoming lanes of traffic"
Homeland Conspiracy
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 7:42 p.m.
Or Helms had to finish the doughnut
TinyArtist
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 12:35 p.m.
Eventually, I bet, because drunks tend to be inattentive.
lynel
Tue, May 1, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.
I hate it when I have to drive on just three tires, it is so noisy and makes it difficult to steer and turn corners.
Ann English
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 1:03 a.m.
I've never driven on three tires, but have torn up the right rear tire pretty much twice, on two different cars and in two very different places. That happens when you drive far enough on a flat tire.
Mac
Tue, May 1, 2012 : 10 p.m.
She thought she was in Canton??? Wow!