Police disturb sleep of alleged impaired driver, uncover 70 grams of meth.

Snooze leads to trafficking

Photo: File

Nelson Police Department officers found a 39-year-old female asleep in the driver’s seat.

A woman who was asleep at the wheel on Government Road woke to a whole new reality when police found her early Wednesday morning in Nelson.

A Nelson Police Department (NPD) patrol found a vehicle stopped with the brake lights on and the engine running on Government Road around 1 a.m. Officers found a 39-year-old female asleep in the driver’s seat.

“Officers woke the female and observed signs consistent with impairment and administered standardized field sobriety testing,” read an NPD statement issued late on Monday.

As a result, the woman was arrested for impaired driving.

The woman was subsequently evaluated by a drug recognition expert and a bodily sample was obtained. A search of the vehicle, conducted “incident to arrest,” resulted in the seizure of the following:

• Approximately 70 grams of suspected methamphetamine; and
• A few hundred “dime baggies.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, a regular user might consume an average of 0.96 grams daily, so an amount of 70 grams in a drug bust is allegedly associated with trafficking and dealing, not just simple possession.

The driver was released from custody pending further investigation, with pending charges of impaired driving and possession for the purpose of trafficking.