Woman Arrested for DUI in Carson City

A 70-year-old woman was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence following a low-speed crash in Carson City, according to a Carson City Sheriff’s Office booking report.

Deputies responded at approximately 4:54 a.m. to the area of East William Street and Gold Dust Way after receiving a report of an accident. A man involved in the crash called dispatch, saying he was in pain and that the other driver appeared to be intoxicated.

When deputies arrived, they made contact with both the man who filed the report and the other driver involved in the collision. Based on observations at the scene, the crash appeared to be a low-speed rear-end collision, the report states. She was seated in the driver’s seat of her vehicle and, when asked what happened, did not provide a clear answer to deputies.

As the deputy spoke with her, they noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from her person. The woman had thick, slurred speech and red, watery eyes, according to the report. When asked how much she had to drink, she did not respond.

The deputy asked the woman to step out of the vehicle. While standing, she reportedly had difficulty balancing and continuously swayed. The odor of alcohol remained strong. The deputy asked if she would participate in field sobriety tests. After initially not giving a clear response, she agreed to begin with the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.

During the test, the woman showed signs of impairment, the report states. She then indicated she no longer wished to continue with additional field sobriety tests. She did, however, consent to a preliminary breath test, which showed a blood alcohol concentration of .190.

Based on the totality of observations, deputies took the woman into custody for suspicion of DUI. Deputies read the request for voluntary evidence, and she agreed to submit to an evidentiary breath test. At the jail, breath samples reportedly measured .197 and .189.

Investigators also obtained surveillance video from a nearby intersection camera in the area near Carson Antiques. The footage shows the victim’s vehicle traveling east on East William Street and stopping at a red light to merge north onto Interstate 580. The woman’s vehicle approached from behind and struck the rear bumper of the stopped vehicle after failing to stop at the red light.