County woman charged with fifth DUI

Crook County resident Nancy Hawken faces a felony charge of driving while under the influence, fifth offense, after her vehicle was found in a ditch on the highway.

On December 15 at around 6:20 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol was advised of a vehicle that had slid off the road with a possibly intoxicated driver. The reporting party stated that the car was in the ditch and the driver appeared to be ok.

The trooper reports that he arrived at milepost 3.75 on Hwy 116 at around 6:30 p.m. and found a vehicle in the barrow ditch on the east side of the highway. Evidence appeared to suggest that the vehicle had been southbound and left the roadway on the right hand side; the driver appeared to have overcorrected her steering, causing the vehicle to rotate counterclockwise and exit the roadway.

According to his report, the trooper checked the vehicle to make sure nobody was inside and smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage, but no occupants. The trooper learned the vehicle was registered to Hawken at an address less than three miles away and suspected from tracks in the snow that she had gotten a ride to the residence.

The trooper went to the residence and found fresh tracks leading from the driveway onto the highway. He made contact with Hawken, who he described as appearing “extremely intoxicated, as she had difficulty standing.”

According to court reports, Hawken admitted she was driving her car and nobody else was with her.

The trooper judged that field sobriety tests were not possible due to safety. At the Crook County Detention Center, Hawken agreed to a breath test; the first sample at around 7:30 p.m. indicated a blood alcohol content of .276% and a second four minutes later indicated .260%.

Hawken faces one felony charge of driving while under the influence, fifth offense, with two known prior convictions in Crook County in 2011 and 2017 and two in Weston County in 2012 and 2014. She also faces misdemeanor charges of driving with a suspended license, driving without an interlock device and failure to drive within a single lane.