A 23-year-old Knoxville woman is facing multiple charges after police say she crashed on I-275 North while intoxicated with four children in her car. Officers found Aleyah Dooley unconscious in a red Chrysler that had come to rest in the median, with an adult passenger and the four kids already standing outside the vehicle.
According to WVLT, officers responded to the crash near the Woodland Avenue exit just before 9 p.m. last Thursday. Police say a car ahead of Dooley slammed on its brakes, forcing her to swerve into another lane, where she lost control and struck the barrier in the median.
Unconscious Driver, Shifting Story
Dooley was initially unresponsive at the scene, according to the station's report, and only came to after officers performed a sternum rub. Once awake, she reportedly told officers she was fine, though officers said they immediately noticed a strong alcoholic odor on her breath.
Per the same account, Dooley performed poorly on field sobriety tests and changed her story several times, at one point denying that she had been driving the car at all. She later told officers, according to a warrant cited in the report, that she had two shots of tequila before getting behind the wheel.
Charges and Next Court Date
Dooley was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and has since been charged with vehicular assault, DUI, driving with a suspended license and two counts of child endangerment, the outlet reported. She appeared in court Monday morning for a bond hearing, with another court appearance scheduled for November 10.
The crash adds to a broader pattern the state tracks each year: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security data defines a known-alcohol-related crash as one in which a driver's alcohol presence is indicated or a test result comes back at or above .08 BAC, though the agency notes its most recent yearly figures remain preliminary. No blood-alcohol test result has been released in Dooley's case.
