Woman pleads guilty after plowing into DUI sign while drunk driving in California
A drunk driver in California smashed into a sign warning that police were on the hunt for anyone driving under the influence -- and was promptly arrested. Clarissa Hernandez pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to three years' probation, KESQ reported, citing court records.
Hernandez had drunk a pint of tequila before she plowed into the electronic signboard in Palm Springs in August, according to police.
Hernandez "nearly collided with a group of pedestrians leaving the theater before colliding with the signboard," police said, according to KESQ.
Officers manning the DUI checkpoint a few steps away rushed over to the mangled Land Rover as Hernandez staggered free.
"Her eyes were bloodshot, red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She swayed forward and back continuously," a Palm Springs Police Department officer identified as J. Valdiva wrote in a report.
"She was angry, argumentative, and hostile," the officer wrote, adding that when questioned, Hernandez said she had polished off her tequila just 10 minutes before the crash.
Hernandez also walked away at one point and swung her hand at an officer who tried to stop her from leaving, KESQ reported, citing police.
Hernandez, 27, who is from Texas, admitted one misdemeanor count each of willfully resisting, and driving under the influence of alcohol when she appeared in court on Wednesday.
Police in California frequently set up checkpoints in an effort to catch unlicensed, uninsured or impaired drivers.
But -- according to state laws -- they have to warn motorists of the presence of the checkpoint, which they sometimes do with electronic signboards.
