TIMBER! – Driver nearly died mowing down power pole while trying to get home after night out in a bar
Alicia Marie Smith 29 of Lakeport CA, crash scene 120515
LAKEPORT, CALIF. – 12/05/2015 – Lakeport Police reports that at 2:20 AM this morning, 12-05-2015, Lakeport Police Officers were dispatched to the 2300 block of Lakeshore Blvd. to investigate the report of a vehicle crashed into a power pole. The first officer arrived on scene within three minutes and found a blue 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX had collided head-on into a fence, and power pole with the power pole being sheared off at about five feet with the lower section of it wedged under the vehicle and the upper section leaning against the vehicle.
Alicia Marie Smith 29 of Lakeport CA, 120515
Officers located the driver and solo occupant, Alicia Marie Smith 29 of Lakeport CA, standing near the vehicle. Officers requested that the Lakeport Fire Protection District (LFPD) respond to evaluate Smith for injuries, and she was determined to be uninjured. Officers noticed that Smith was displaying obvious signs and symptoms of intoxication, and she admitted to consuming four to five drinks. Officers administered a series of field sobriety tests that she was unable to pass. Officers also determined that, based on the results of a preliminary alcohol screening device, Smith’s blood alcohol level at the time of the collision was approximately .21%.
Smith was arrested and transported to the Lakeport Police Department (LPD) for questioning and blood alcohol testing by breath on the California Department of Justice blood alcohol breath machine after which she was taken to the Lake County Jail and booked for drunk driving.
Lakeport California Police Chief Brad Rasmussen notes that two DUI drivers have crashed in Lakeport in the past week and urges drivers to make better decisions.
PG&E responded to the scene to repair the damaged power pole.
This is the second drunk driving caused vehicle collision in the City of Lakeport in the past three days. We ask that all drivers keep our streets safe and not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs – “Call a friend, family member or a taxi, it is not worth risking other people’s lives.” Please call 911 to report all suspected drunk drivers on our streets and highways. Lakeport Police patrol officers will continue to aggressively search for those choosing to drive impaired and endangering our streets.
