28 Nov Police say driver was drinking and using phone
A New York woman was handed several criminal charges after she was involved in a one-car accident in Canandaigua on Nov. 15. Police say that the 22-year-old woman crashed her car in a parking lot on Lakeshore Drive at about 11:10 p.m. After police were called to the scene of the accident, they found the woman inside of her vehicle and allegedly determined that she was under the influence of alcohol.
According to investigators, the accused woman was using her phone and consuming alcohol in her vehicle before the crash. The woman drifted off of the roadway, struck a curb, drove over a sidewalk and then crashed in a parking lot. Because she had a previous drunk driving charge within the last 10 years, the woman was handed a felony DWI charge for the latest incident.
In addition to felony DWI, the woman was charged with felony driving with a BAC over .08 percent, drinking alcohol inside a motor vehicle, using a mobile device while driving, driving on the sidewalk and failure to maintain lane. It is unclear whether the woman was offered a bail option after she was detained.
A person who has a prior DWI conviction on their record may face elevated charges if they are suspected of driving drunk again. A criminal defense attorney could represent an individual who is facing a second or third charge for DWI and help the defendant to negotiate a plea deal. In some cases, DWI defendants may enter deals that allow them to plead guilty to reduced charges and avoid jail time.
Source: WWMT, “Police: Woman drove drunk onto sidewalk while texting,” Nov. 17, 2016