Woman faces DUI charges after allegedly crashing into truck at post office
By Collier County Sheriff's Office
Originally published 10:12 a.m., Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Updated 10:12 a.m., Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Collier County Sheriff's Office
Heather Jayne Karnehm
A 45-year-old woman is facing a felony child neglect charge after deputies say she drove intoxicated while a child was a passenger in her truck.
Heather Jayne Karnehm, 2875 Poinciana Drive, North Naples, was arrested Monday. She was also charged with DUI with property damage and DUI alcohol or drugs second offense.
Arrest reports say Karnehm backed her truck into another truck in the parking lot of the post office at 1200 Goodlette-Frank Road around 6 p.m. Monday.
Deputies said Karnehm mumbled and her speech was slurred, reports said. She was disoriented and unsteady on her feet when she got out of her truck and had to hold onto a deputy to keep from falling, reports said.
A child was inside the truck at the time of the crash, reports said.
Deputies also said Karnehm was unable to perform field sobriety exercises due to being impaired, reports said.
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For someone so impaired to the point that she cant stand, doesnt look that bad in her photo.
#1 Posted by SandnSurf on September 9, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would almost guaranty that the felony child neglect will be dropped. There is a specific enhancement in the DUI statute for having a minor child in the car with you (and it does not make it a felony). But why arrest for just a misdemeanor when you can overcharge someone and get a felony arrest statistic? I'm not condoning her actions, but the police need to charge appropriately.
#2 Posted by Duh on September 9, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
She looks like that chick from the movie GREASE. Remember the one who thought she was pregnant and was kinda ruff? Anyway.. good luck.
#3 Posted by Lemme on September 9, 2008 at 10:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
RFG. I think you'r right, I can see the similarities.
Women are getting out of control these days. What's up with that???
#4 Posted by sock_puppet on September 9, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
yo sista...naw brotha
#5 Posted by ridingshotgun on September 9, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Stockard Channing.....Rizzo...and yes I can see the resemblance!
#6 Posted by eaglebeak on September 9, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Looks like she forgot to shave this morning.
#7 Posted by boulderbilly on September 9, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good one Cutthroat. :)
#8 Posted by Opinionated on September 9, 2008 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Whatever happened to yesterday's story about the woman smashing into the police cruiser? Did you guys get too carried away and they had to take it off the blogs?
#9 Posted by mpulsivebat on September 9, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, I saw the picture and you are all absolutely right. It was rather scary.
#10 Posted by mpulsivebat on September 9, 2008 at 1:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
#3 - you are right about the misdemeanor charge for DUI when there is a child present in the car. But due to the circumstances of the case the deputy may have felt it more appropriate to charge the way he/she did. I was not there to see or hear what happened.
However it may be lowered to the charge you are referring to or dropped in some sort of plea agreement.
As far as the "felony arrest statistic" no such thing. Deputies to not get an "adda boy" for a felony arrest, they do not get any extra pay, nor does it reflect in their performance evaluations.
You can retire with one thousand misdemeanor arrests under your belt or a thousand felony arrests and it won’t mean squat when you walk out the door.
Contrary to popular opinion and the Kool-Aid drinkers out there [please no offense intended] the “felony arrest statistic” thing or having a “quota” is a myth.
#11 Posted by factteller1 on September 9, 2008 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)
She had to hold on to the deputy, for petes' sake, because she was so drunk she couldn't stand.
It certainly appears the child was most likely in grave danger..
IMO she deserves the max
#12 Posted by mikesgirl on September 9, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
well,mikesgirl, I guess you got your wish. Heather passed away from a heart condition in Oct 17th. I guess that was "the max" as you call it.
She suffered from cancer and also from various other excruciatingly painful health problems, and these forced her to take very powerful prescription medications. While this does not excuse the DUI, it does show that not everyone who gets a DUI is "drunk".
#13 Posted by llarian on October 22, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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