Woman jailed for DUI with child in SUV
A 38-year-old woman driving drunk with her 3-year-old child in the back seat will spend time in jail.
NORRISTOWN » A Bucks County woman began serving a jail sentence on Monday after she admitted to driving while impaired in Montgomery Township and to placing a child who was traveling with her in danger.
Nichole Janene Adams, 38, of the 800 block of Gladwyn Road, Warminster, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 90 days to five years in the county jail after she pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of a child and driving under the influence of a combination of drugs in connection with the March 2017 incident in Montgomery Township.
Judge Gary S. Silow also ordered Adams to complete five years’ of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Frame said jail time was warranted in the case.
“Although this defendant did substantial treatment immediately following the incident date, the court found zero tolerance for her conduct of driving impaired with her 3-year-old seated behind her,” Frame said. “Driving after imbibing drugs or alcohol is a serious charge by itself, and when coupled with a young child it is reprehensible conduct.”
An investigation began about 5 p.m. March 3, 2017, when Montgomery Township police stopped a black Nissan Pathfinder operated by Adams for an alleged traffic violation. Police alleged Adams failed to stop for a steady red traffic signal while traveling southbound on Stump Road and turned left onto Bethlehem Pike while opposing traffic had the green light, according to the criminal complaint.
“Ms. Adams immediately began to apologize for the traffic infraction knowing exactly what she had done wrong,” alleged Montgomery Township Police Officer Craig Scully, adding Adams’s 3-year-old son was in the back seat of the vehicle. “While Ms. Adams was speaking with me I could detect an odor of alcoholic beverage on Ms. Adams’s breath.”
Adams told police she was on her way to work at the English Village Shopping Center and was going to drop her son off with another relative, according to the arrest affidavit.
Police said Adams failed field sobriety tests and showed signs of impairment.
A blood test determined Adams had a blood alcohol content of 0.186 percent, more than double the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent. Police alleged the blood tests also showed traces of marijuana and a prescription drug used to treat insomnia or seizure disorders, which has sedating effects that can significantly impair driving.