A Ross County Sheriff’s dispatcher charged with DUI called her Saturday night crash, “a wake-up call.” She also admitted to an officer responding to the scene that she’s an alcoholic.
Dispatcher Keipher Scott, 26, crashed her vehicle on Yocktangee Parkway while on her way to work at her job with the Ross County Sheriff’s Office. According to a report from Chillicothe Police, Ms. Scott crossed the median and hit another car and two parked vehicles.
Bodycam footage from a Chillicothe Police Officer shows the harrowing scene. Scott is trapped in her wrecked vehicle and obviously in pain. Though she doesn’t necessarily appear intoxicated, she confesses to the officer, ” This is my wake-up call. I am an alcoholic. I do work for the Sheriff’s Office as a dispatcher. But I’m going to be fired after this.”
Scott is in the backseat of the mangled vehicle but can’t remember how she got there. When the officer attempts to open the door, she cries out in pain and tells him she’s afraid she’s going to fall. When asked if she’s impaired at the moment, she answers, “I probably am.” Scott tells the officer she started drinking wine earlier in the day, then fell asleep. She then overslept and was late for work at the time of the accident. Records show she was scheduled to start her shift at 11 pm but failed to show up. When her coworkers reached out to her, she told them she had car troubles and would be there as soon as possible.
Seriously Injured
“I know I’m going to lose my job,” she said. “If I lose this job, I’m not going to have any insurance.” Unlike many DUI suspects, Scott was unfailingly polite, calling the officer, sir. She also apologized frequently for her actions.
She also seemed more than willing to admit she’d been drinking. Scott and the officer recognized each other from work, recalling that they’d once shared a pizza.
After EMS personnel freed her from the wreckage, Scott was transported to the hospital. She suffered two broken legs and multiple broken ribs. According to social media posts by family members, she had surgery on Sunday. She is currently in the ICU at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.
There are not reports of anyone else injured in the crash. Police have charged Scott with DUI.
Attorney Dan Sabol said that despite her on-camera confession to drinking, the prosecution still had the burden of proof. The police report noted no smell of alcohol, though the officer thought her speech seemed slurred. Sabol pointed out that the speech issue could be the result of the accident and it’s possible that Scott consumed the wine several hours earlier during the day.
Evidence like Scott’s blood alcohol level could be crucial evidence in the case.
