(La Porte, IN) - Police say an impaired driver slid their Chevy Tahoe into a snowbank at Kingsbury Avenue and 18th Street this week during a heavy snowstorm.
La Porte County Police said tires tracks on the snow-covered road indicated the driver failed to negotiate a northbound turn at the intersection.
The driver, Liz Silva, asked the officer to help push out her vehicle. When asked if she had been drinking, police said the 32-year old La Porte woman blamed the odor of alcohol inside her vehicle on a friend who had been in the vehicle earlier after consuming alcoholic beverages. Numerous containers of beer, including one that was half full, raised suspicions about Silva being impaired even further.
She was arrested when her blood alcohol level was found to be more than twice the .08-percent legal limit, police said.
The Operating While Intoxicated charge was upgraded to a Level 6 felony because she had a previous conviction for driving impaired in Wisconsin.
