A woman has pleaded guilty in California to driving under the influence after she crashed into a sign warning motorists against drunk driving.
Clarissa Hernandez, 27, from Texas, had downed a pint of tequila minutes before getting behind the wheel of her Land Rover early Aug. 11 and plowing into an electronic signboard in Palm Springs that read, “Don’t Drink & Drive,” according to a police statement.
The impact of the crash shattered the sign, but cops said the situation could have been much worse because the sloshed driver had narrowly avoided colliding with a group of pedestrians leaving a nearby theater.
Officers who were posted at the checkpoint near the crash scene ran over and saw Hernandez staggering away from her wrecked vehicle.
“Her eyes were bloodshot, red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She swayed forward and back continuously,” read an incident report cited by the station KESQ.
Clarissa Hernandez, 27, pleaded guilty to a DUI charge months after crashing into an electronic signboard warning drivers against drinking and driving. PalmSpringsPD/Facebook
The sign was positioned just steps away from a DUI checkpoint manned by police officers, who arrested Hernandez. PalmSpringsPD/FacebookHernandez even leaned on the smashed sign resting on its side to steady herself as she walked, police said.
Far from showing remorse for what happened, the woman was described in the report as “angry, argumentative and hostile.”
When questioned about her alcohol intake, Hernandez reportedly admitted that she had imbibed the tequila just 10 minutes before careening into the sign.
The crash happened early Aug. 11 at the intersection of Tahquitz Canyon Way and Calle Alvarado in Palm Springs. Google MapsAt one point, Hernandez allegedly swung a hand at an officer who tried to stop her from leaving the crash scene.
On Wednesday, Hernandez pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence of alcohol and willfully resisting, and was sentenced to three years of probation.
