A drunk driver is going to jail after she mistakenly thought a trooper was after her when the lawman was actually trying to stop another motorist.
The driver, Bethany L. Zahn, 19, accelerated and tried to give Highway Patrolman Rodney Whiles the shake when she saw the trooper’s car closing ground on her Infinity G35. Little did she know Whiles was after another vehicle and would likely have not noticed her vehicle had she not started to speed up as she drove along Highway 55 Bypass. It was then he clocked the teen doing 72 mph in a 55 mph speed zone and began chase.
“She made a left turn onto Shangri La Lane and continued to accelerate while I was attempting to stop her,” Whiles said, noting the teen was holding too much speed when she tried to go around a curve in the residential section. “She entered a sharp curve at a high rate of speed and failed to negotiate it.”
Zahn lost control of her vehicle in the curve and ran off the road. She then slammed into a tree.
The teen entered a guilty plea before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke to charges of DUI, evading arrest and reckless endangerment. She was ordered to serve four days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence and must pay $350 plus costs, attend DUI class, perform 24 hours public service and lose her driver license for one year.
She was also directed to complete Teen Challenge as part of her sentence.
Her charges, with exception of her DUI, will be covered under a judicial diversion due to her lack of prior record. The diversion means her criminal record will be erased once she finishes her probation.