Drunk Driver Goes Backward on Interstate On-Ramp

arrested a 28-year-old Cedarburg woman when they found her backing up on the Interstate 43 on-ramp near Brown Deer Road.

Just before 3 a.m. on May 14, officers saw the vehicle with its left rear tire on the curb, partially in traffic stopped on the ramp. The officer walked up to the driver's window and asked the driver how the vehicle ended up on the curb. She explained that it was a "personal matter" between she and her 41-year-old boyfriend, who was seated in the passenger seat. According to the report, the officer could smell a strong odor of intoxicants on the passenger's breath as well. When asked how much she had to drink, she replied, “Nothing.” When the officer asked the passenger, he stated that he had consumed "a lot."

Officers wanted to make sure there was no altercation between the two, and the driver said that it was a verbal argument only and it was a personal matter between she and her boyfriend. Officers noted in the report that the woman was swaying the entire time she was speaking.

During the field sobriety test, she complained of being very cold and having to use the bathroom prior to the tests. The officer advised her that once the tests were completed, they would make arrangements to use the bathroom and he gave her a jacket to wear during the test. The report shows it was roughly 40 degrees.

When asked to recite alphabet, she got to the letter V, waited five seconds, then said "xyz." Her eyes were glassy, and she was noticeably swaying during the test as well.

When she was asked to submit to a preliminary breath test, she “respectfully declined,” according to the report.

Officers arrested her for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. While she was initially cooperative, during the medical questioning she suddenly stopped answering questions and said she would not answer anything else until she was allowed to talk to her attorney. The officer advised her that she had to comply with the rest of the OWI process before she would be able to contact an attorney. She became very upset and said, “I know my rights and I know your job!”

When asked for the official chemical breath test, she said she would “consider it if I am allowed to talk to my attorney.” Officers marked the test as a refusal after she declined three requests for compliance.