A drunk driver who crashed her car and left her passenger seriously injured has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The drunk driver, Tamika Crisp, 38, entered guilty pleas before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to charges of assault, reckless endangerment, DUI, and driving on a suspended license. She was ordered to serve 30 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence, pay $460 plus costs, perform 40 hours public service work and lose her driver license for one year. She was originally charged with vehicular assault but the count was reduced to assault as a result of her plea bargain.
Her jail time comes for the injuries suffered by her passenger, Marcos David Sadate Escarega, who was rushed to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga for treatment following the wreck which happened last year. Crisp was also treated at Erlanger.
According to Highway Patrol Sgt. Billy Prater, the crash happened around 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of Old Sparta Highway and Sparta Highway in front of Campaign Church of God. Evidence suggests Crisp came to the end of Old Sparta Highway in her 2002 Honda Accord and failed to stop at the stop sign.
“She crossed both lanes and ran up an embankment,” Sgt. Prater said. “Then the car struck a tree.”
The car came to rest on the side of the embankment. When first-responders arrived, they were told there was a third passenger in the vehicle and that person had been ejected. A search of the scene revealed nothing and it was later discovered the injured passenger was mistaken when he claimed another person had been in the car.
The fact was confirmed when a friend called Crisp’s phone while officers were working the wreck. Officers answered the call. The friend revealed they had all been together earlier in the evening and it was just Crisp and Escarega in the car at the time of the crash.
Crisp’s jail time will be served in addition to any other time she faces on other charges.