VIPD has not yet released a mugshot of the suspect. This story will be updated if one is provided.
ST. THOMAS — A woman is facing driving under the influence and negligent driving charges after police say she crossed into oncoming traffic on Smith Bay Road, struck another vehicle, and continued over an embankment before being detained and later refusing a breathalyzer test.
According to court documents, officers were dispatched on the evening of May 17 to the area near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection building on Smith Bay Road, where they encountered Keezi Pinney, the driver of a Toyota Tacoma, and another woman who had been driving an Acura RDX.
According to police, Pinney’s speech was slurred as she attempted to speak with officers, and her sentences “did not make sense.” Officers also reported that her eyes were red and her pupils were dilated.
Police said Pinney was disruptive and belligerent during the investigation, interrupting officers several times as they attempted to take a statement from the other driver. She reportedly refused multiple requests to provide license and registration documents.
According to the arrest report, Ms. Pinney also began making “loud clapping noises” while giving her own statement, making it difficult for officers to understand what she was saying. Police said her father had to be called to provide the documents officers had requested. When he tried to get her to stop clapping, she reportedly became more irate.
Police then detained Ms. Pinney and transported her to the station. During the ride, according to the arrest report, “The scent of alcohol filled the inside of the police vehicle.”
At the station, Pinney reportedly declined to sign the document advising her of her Miranda rights and also declined to submit to a breathalyzer test. She was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and negligent driving.
Police said their investigation determined that Ms. Pinney had been driving northwest on Smith Bay Road when she crossed the center dividing line and struck the oncoming Acura RDX on its right side.
The impact reportedly caused the Acura to spin roughly 180 degrees, leaving it facing the opposite direction from where it had been traveling. After the collision, Ms. Pinney’s Tacoma reportedly continued forward and went over the embankment at the side of the road, coming to rest approximately 75 feet from the point of impact.
Pinney posted $1,000 bail and was released from detention pending her advice of rights hearing, which took place Monday before Magistrate Julie Smith Todman.
The judge found probable cause to uphold the charges, but reduced the bail requirement by half. Conditions of release include the suspension of Ms. Pinney’s driving privileges until her arraignment in the first instance, and an order requiring her to report to the probation office weekly by telephone after an initial in-person visit.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 5.
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