A Lyons driver was arrested for OVWI after she looked as though she might be staggering as she came out of a bar in Worthington and got behind the wheel of a vehicle in front of a deputy who was working across the street.

Wendy Ann VanArsdale, 49, Lyons, was arrested by Deputy Kelly Hutchens of the Greene County Sheriff's Department early Sunday, September 18.

Around 1:30 AM last Sunday, Deputy Hutchens was sitting in her patrol vehicle at the Worthington Police Department working on her laptop when she noticed a woman exit Jose's Bar which is located across the street from the police department. Deputy Hutchens reported the woman looked as if she may have been staggering toward vehicles that were parked in the parking spaces on the east side of Commercial Street/US 231/SR 67. The woman got into the driver’s seat of a black Jeep Cherokee and the headlamps and taillights came on as if the vehicle had just been started. Deputy Hutchens was concerned about the driver's ability to drive so she briefly activated her emergency lights to let the woman know she was sitting in the patrol vehicle. At that point the headlamps and taillights turned off as if the vehicle had been turned off but the driver did not get out of the vehicle and Deputy Hutchens continued working on her laptop.

Several minutes later, the Cherokee had turned its lights on and quickly pulled out of the parking spot to head north then turned east onto Christian Street. Deputy Hutchens then drove toward North State Road 157 but before she reached Williams Street, she saw a vehicle quickly traveling south on Christian Street crossing SR 157. The deputy was unable to get directly behind the Cherokee until it turned onto North County Road 250 S but after she turned south onto N CR 250 S, the Cherokee had stopped in the roadway with the driver’s door opened. As she got closer, the Cherokee continued south then went west on W CR 325 N which was a narrow gravel road. Deputy Hutchens reported the Cherokee slowed but failed to stop at the intersection with N CR 310 W and continued towards SR 57/US 231, picking up speed. The Cherokee also slowed but failed to stop at that intersection then pulled into the gated driveway of a Hoosier Energy property on US 231 where the Cherokee stopped.

VanArsdale was identified as the driver who said she saw the officer behind her and thought she was being pulled over for speeding. Deputy Hutchens said it was for failing to stop at stop signs. VanArsdale said she was headed home and allegedly admitted she'd had a couple of drinks. Deputy Hutchens reported she could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from VanArsdale’s breath and she showed other signs of impairment including slow and slurred speech.

After GCSD Sergeant Jordan Allor arrived on the scene to assist, standard field sobriety testing was conducted on the scene but VanArsdale could not stay focused and swayed multiple times during the testing. VanArsdale allegedly admitted she was a little bit intoxicated and was transported to the sheriff's department for field sobriety testing in a controlled environment. She failed those tests but consented to take a certified breath test. Results showed she tested with a blood alcohol concentration of .171. The legal limit is .08.

VanArsdale was booked into the Greene County Jail at 3:14 AM with bond set at $4000 surety with 10% cash allowed. She posted $400 and was released later the same day.

VanArsdale is currently scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court for her initial hearing on September 29 to face charges of:

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and
Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor.