A Thomaston woman was citied for DUI alcohol on Sept. 20 after her adult daughter who was a passenger in the vehicle reported her to authorities at a Senoia convenience store.
Donna Dodgen, 52, was charged with DUI alcohol by Senoia Police, according to Chief Jason Edens.
Edens said Dodgen was traveling with her adult daughter and her granddaughter when they stopped at the Flash Foods store at the intersection of Ga. highways 16 and 85.
Dogden’s daughter entered the store and asked a clerk to call 911. The daughter said she and her 10-year-old daughter were in the car with her mother and needed help, adding that Dodgen had been drinking and should not be driving, said Edens.
Edens said the clerk called 911 and an alert for the vehicle was issued. The alert came when Senoia officers were across the street just as Dodgen had exited the convenience store parking lot.
Edens said the officers saw the passengers waving at them as the car passed. Dodgen was subsequently pulled over and had trouble exiting the vehicle, Edens said, adding that a family member opened the door for her.
Dodgen also had difficulty finding her driver’s license and handed the officer a credit card rather than her license, said Edens.
“There was a heavy smell of alcohol in the vehicle and on her breath,” Edens said.
Edens said officers performed a field sobriety test, though Dodgen refused a breathalyzer test and a blood test.
Dodgen at one point told officers she had taxen a Xanax earlier in the evening, reports said.
Edens praised the action by Dodgen’s daughter.
The daughter was unable to drive in place of her mother due to a head injury the daughter suffered in a recent car accident that does not allow her drive, said Edens.
