West Virginia: Driver hit police car escorting funeral procession was overdosing on heroin, charged with DUI

Huntington West Virginia Police with Marine One on Aug. 4, 2017

Huntington West Virginia Police

DUI heroin overdosing driver hit Huntington Police cruiser leading funeral procession on Aug. 12, 2017, Photo courtesy of Herald Dispatch

Driver hit police car escorting funeral procession was overdosing on heroin, charged with DUI

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A Huntington Police Department cruiser was hit while leading a funeral procession Saturday afternoon.

According to Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli, the driver who ran into the officer’s vehicle was in the process of overdosing on heroin when the accident occurred.

According to police, three people were inside the vehicle responsible for the wreck, all of whom are facing charges.

The driver is charged with DUI, while one of the passengers is charged with permitting DUI and the other passenger is charged for using drugs.

ARRESTS FOR DUI BY HUNTINGTON POLICE:

HPD17-04981 08/12/17 15:11 BOLING, Joanna HAL GREER BLVD / WASHINGTON BLVD, DUI less than .150
HPD17-04981 08/12/17 15:11 BOLING, Joanna HAL GREER BLVD / WASHINGTON BLVD, Possession of a Controlled Substance

HPD17-04991 08/13/17 03:19 MCKENZIE, DARA 6TH ST / 6TH AVE, HUNTINGTON, WV DUI greater than .150
HPD17-04991 08/13/17 03:19 MCKENZIE, DARA 6TH ST / 6TH AVE, HUNTINGTON, WV Underage Consumption

The Huntington Herald Dispatch reported the following: 

The driver, identified as a 44-year-old Hurricane, West Virginia, woman, was found uninjured from the crash but unconscious from a suspected heroin overdose, with a recent injection site on her right wrist, according to criminal complaints from Cabell County Magistrate Court.

The woman was revived with naloxone and told police she had injected heroin prior to driving. She refused medical attention and was arraigned in Cabell County Magistrate Court for misdemeanor DUI before being lodged in Western Regional Jail.

Two other passengers in the sedan were also cited for misdemeanors: one passenger for permitting DUI and another passenger on a city charge for possession of intoxicating substances, Ciccarelli said.   MORE

HPD17-04981 08/12/17 15:11 Godfrey, Susan HAL GREER BLVD / WASHINGTON BLVD, Possession of a Controlled Substance