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Last night, a driver drove her vehicle straight into a deep ditch

A Linton woman who crashed her vehicle into a ditch late last night allegedly admitted she messed up and had been drinking before driving.

debbie louise hollingsworth

Debbie Louise Hollingsworth, 60, Linton, was arrested by Officer Cayden Walker of the Linton Police Department late last night, Thursday, January 26.

LPD dispatch got a call around 9:30 PM reporting a crash in the area of 4th St. NW and West Vincennes St. The caller said the vehicle was off in a ditch and trying to back out of the ditch. The caller said the driver was a woman who was possibly intoxicated.

When Officer Walker arrived, he found a white Ford Focus in a ditch with a female driver, later identified as Hollingsworth, in the driver’s seat. He said the front wheel was spinning as she tried to back out of the ditch. When she rolled her window down and he asked her what was going on tonight, she allegedly said, “I f----- up.” She said she was at a bar and she f----- up.

Hollingsworth said she was not injured but because she was in a deep ditch and didn't realize she was in a deep ditch, Officer Walker requested Greene County Rescue to come check her out. She was assisted out of her vehicle and out of the ditch.

While waiting on rescue personnel to arrive, Officer Walker talked to two witnesses who said they saw the crash occur. One said Hollingsworth was westbound on Vincennes St. without her headlights on and she drove straight down in the ditch after she turned onto 4th St. SW. He said he was attempting to check on her and was tapping on the window when she was trying to back out of the ditch.

Hollingsworth refused medical treatment and a trip to the hospital so was asked to do field sobriety testing. At one point she allegedly said, “I'll admit to you I'm f----- up and never been drunk in my life.” Later she said she had eaten a baloney sandwich at 12:30 PM but had been drinking for the last three hours and had at least four beers. She did not do well on the tests and was transported to the Linton Police Department to conduct  the tests in a controlled environment but she failed tests or they were stopped for safety reasons due to her poor balance.

Next she was asked to take a certified breath test but she was unable to complete the test due to insufficient samples. Since she could not complete the breath test, she was transported to Greene County General Hospital for a blood draw and she was medically cleared by a doctor.

Hollingsworth was booked into the Greene County Jail at 11:37 PM with bond set at $4000 surety with 10% cash allowed.

Hollingsworth has retained Defense Attorney Sam Shapiro to represent her and the defense has filed a motion to waive the initial hearing. If that motion is approved by the court, Hollingsworth will be facing charges of:

  • Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor, and

  • Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor.