Chicago woman calls 911 on herself while driving intoxicated, Indiana State Police say

Indiana State Police said a Chicago woman called 911 on herself over the weekend while driving dangerously and while intoxicated on I-65 in Jasper County.

State police said just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Indiana State Police received a 911 call from a woman they later identified as 42-year-old Meisha Thomas of Chicago. Police said she sounded very intoxicated and was providing erratic information to the 911 dispatchers.

Dispatchers were able to track her location as she drove southbound on I-65 near the Lowell exit in southern Lake County, Indiana, police said.

A trooper responded to the area and found a car matching the caller's description driving between 30 and 50 mph in a 70 mph posted zone after she left Lake County and entered Jasper County, still on I-65.

Police said the car was swerving across lanes, impeding traffic and forcing other drivers to brake or take action to avoid her car.

At first, Indiana State Police said, Thomas ignored their lights and sirens as they tried to pull her over, but eventually she stopped in the left lane. State police said she had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, poor coordination and smelled strongly of alcohol.

Police said Thomas told them she had left the casino in Gary and was on her way home to Chicago; in fact, according to state troopers, she had driven about 36 miles in the wrong direction.

State police said she was too impaired to safely complete a field sobriety test and refused Indiana's implied consent law, which states that by driving you have already implicitly consented to a breathalyzer, blood or other chemical test if an officer suspects you are driving under the influence. Police later got a search warrant and took her blood at a local hospital.

Police said during this time, Thomas made repeated inappropriate sexual comments and advances toward the trooper, including trying to kiss him while he secured her in a seatbelt. She did not stop after being told to multiple times, police said. Because of that, she is additionally charged with battery against a public safety official.

Thomas was arrested and charged with battery against a public safety official, a felony, and three misdemeanors of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and endangering a person, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and reckless driving.

She was taken to Jasper County Jail. Police have not said if she was given bail or when she was due in court.