A 27-year-old Texas woman crashed her Land Rover into an electronic signboard in Palm Springs, California last August. The sign ironically read, “Don’t drink and drive.” Local police claim she admitted to drinking a pint of tequila before getting behind the wheel. Yesterday, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of willfully resisting and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
Clarissa Hernandez was driving eastbound close to midnight down Tahquitz Canyon Way and nearly hit a group of pedestrians leaving the Regal Palm Springs movie theater, KESQ reports. Then, she collided with the signboard and the utility trailer it was attached to. The display board was stationed there to make drivers aware of the DUI checkpoint up the street. The crash tipped the trailer onto its side while the Land Rover continued on.
The Palm Springs Police Department stated that it found the SUV 40 yards away in a dirt field, with Hernandez attempting to walk away and holding herself up against the Land Rover. A PSPD officer claimed, “Her eyes were bloodshot red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She swayed forward and back continuously. She was angry, argumentative, and hostile.” He added that Hernandez took a swing at him when he attempted to prevent her from leaving the scene.
Hernandez was sentenced to three years of summary probation. Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident. It might seem like the case proves otherwise, but drunk driving campaigns are effective. According to a review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, alcohol-impaired driving awareness campaigns reduce drunk driving crashes by 13 percent.