-->
A
Granton woman who made a rare decision to call 911 to report she was
driving drunk was charged earlier this week in Clark County Court.
Mary
Strey, 49, told a dispatcher she was too drunk to drive and wanted to
report herself at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, according to a recording
of the 911 call released Friday by the Clark County Sheriff's
Department.
She
was cited and charged with drunken driving and operating with a
blood-alcohol level of 0.1 percent or more, according to online court
records. An initial appearance is scheduled for Dec. 10.
No one else was in the car, according to the report, and no one was injured.
In the call, Strey first said she wanted to report a drunken driver.
When asked by a dispatcher whether she was "behind them," she said, "I am them."
"So you want to call and report that you're driving drunk?" the dispatcher asked.
The woman was told to pull over. She stopped and turned on her flashers.
"Do you want to stop driving before you get in an accident?" the dispatcher said.
"Yep, I'll stop right now," Strey said.
Throughout the call, she apologizes and says she didn't want to hurt anyone.
Clark
County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jim Backus said calls of people reporting
themselves are rare, and he couldn't recall other drunken drivers
turning themselves in to police.
"It's
unfortunate that she couldn't have had someone prior to driving that
could have taken her," Backus said. "The good thing is no one was hurt."
A message left on Strey's cell phone was not returned, and a phone number listed under Mary Strey is no longer in service.
On the call, Strey sounds somewhat surprised with herself, but she remains calm and cooperative.
"How many people you get that call in on themself?" she asked.
"Not many," the dispatcher said. "But I guess it's better than getting in an accident and killing yourself or somebody else."
"No, I don't want to hurt anybody," Strey said. "I'm drunk."