A motorist spotted “nodding off” while stopped at a traffic light ended up being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence — not of alcohol — but, rather, prescription drugs.
The incident happened Tuesday, about 6:15 p.m., when a citizen saw a woman behind the wheel of a vehicle on Bouquet Canyon Road nod off and hit the center median several times, Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, wrote in a post on the sheriff’s Facebook page Thursday.
Deputies caught up with the driver and conducted a traffic stop, she wrote. Field sobriety tests were administered and the driver performed poorly.
The driver, in her 40s, couldn’t keep her balance, Miller said, and during the finger-to-nose test, she missed all placements of the finger.
Preliminary tests for blood-alcohol content came back at zero percent. It turns out the driver had taken a prescription medication that can cause drowsiness, Miller said.
Deputies arrested the woman on charges of driving under the influence.
Miller noted on her Facebook post: “Please be mindful of medications and take warnings seriously on the labels.”
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