A bar-hopping woman was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly striking a parked vehicle as she left one bar and headed to another.
Officers from the Covington Police Department were called to Mickey Dee’s after they received a complaint that a woman had left the bar and struck another car on her way out. Dispatch notified the officers while they were on the way that the woman had arrived at 5 O’Clock Somewhere, in the shopping center across the street.
When they arrived at the bar, they reportedly found a 2000 silver Dodge Ram truck that was registered to Sonja Lee Burdette. They spoke to witnesses who allegedly told officers they were standing outside Mickey Dee’s when they saw a vehicle matching the silver Dodge pull out of a parking space and hit a black Ford Thunderbird.
The witnessed reportedly told the officers they got into their vehicle and followed the driver to 5 O’Clock Somewhere where they saw the driver park her vehicle and head inside the bar.
The witnesses entered the bar escorted by the officers and allegedly identified Burdette as the person they saw driving the truck. She was brought outside where officers began to question her about the incident.
According to reports, she had a strong smell of alcohol coming from her breath when she spoke to the officers. She allegedly seemed to be swaying from side to side and, when asked if she had driven from one bar to the other she reportedly told the officers that she had.
When asked if she recalled hitting a parked car she allegedly said that she "could not say if she did or didn’t." She then reportedly told the officers she didn’t remember hitting anything.
Officers asked Burdette how much she had had to drink that evening and she allegedly told them she’d had two small Crown and Cokes. She then reportedly agreed to perform sobriety tests.
When asked to recite her alphabet she allegedly started with A and stopped at N, mumbled something unintelligible, and then said Q. While demonstrating another test Burdette reportedly began several times before the officer was finished explaining it to her and was never able to complete the test correctly, in spite of several attempts, according to reports.
Burdette was placed under arrest and was transported to the Newton County Detention Center and charged with DUI less safe and leaving the scene of an accident. An officer requested that she take a breath test and she reportedly told him she could not take any further tests without her attorney present.