• 18
  • April
    2012

Just 38 miles southeast of Newburgh sits Somers, a quiet town of 20,000. It was there that a woman was recently arrested in a driveway and charged with felony driving while intoxicated, according to New York State Police.

A state trooper was dispatched this past Monday night to a Somers driveway where he was told a woman was sitting slumped over the steering wheel of an idling car. After the trooper arrived, he said he found the woman as described, with a child in the vehicle.

The child's age, name and relationship to the woman, 41, were not disclosed by law enforcement officials.

State police said her blood alcohol content was tested at 0.25 percent, which is slightly more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent in New York.

A person can be arrested for aggravated driving while intoxicated with a BAC of 0.18 percent or higher.

The woman was arrested for aggravated DWI/child in vehicle, a Class E felony. The law targets people accused of driving while intoxicated with a child of 15 or younger in the car.

If a person is convicted of DWI, they face mandatory installation (at their expense) of an ignition interlock device in any vehicles they own or operate. The device is typically required for at least six months after the conviction.

The ignition interlock device connects to the vehicle's ignition system. Before the car can be started, a person must blow into the device, which measures the breath for any traces of alcohol.

Source: lohud.com: "Somers woman a DWI at 3x legal limit with child in car, troopers charge," April 18, 2012