Back in April Misty Dawn Dawson told her boss she wasn’t feeling well so she had to go home early. Before getting in her car she popped an unknown amount prescription pills. The intoxicated woman passed out on the way home and killed an SCDOT worker when her car careened out of control. After reading through her story I put forward that she sounded like an addict, to which a supposed friend of hers named “Elizabeth Upchurch” took great exception and left this comment on my original piece:

Misty is NOT a drug/alcohol abuser. I’ve known her for 17 years & were very close friends
ends growing up. Even during those difficult teen years, Misty didn’t indulge in the drug/drinking/smoking sometimes associated with growing up in small-town USA. She’s actually a very hard-working person, devoted mother of 2. She has NO criminal history or history of alcohol/substance abuse. I believe this was a terrible tragedy which most-likely stemmed from an unforeseen reaction or a direct result of the illness she experienced just prior to the accident. I know she’s had some serious health issues in recent years. Its also possible she sustained some head injuries in that accident, which could’ve resulted in the memory loss she reports at the time of impact. As an above-poster mentioned, its highly unfair to label someone as “…an addict needing her fix”. She grew up in some unimaginable circumstances & worked very hard to make a good life for herself. My heart goes out to the victim’s family but to misty too. She was always the “voice of reason”, exuding maturity far beyond our years. How many can HONESTLY say they HAVEN’T taken allergy/cold products & have operated some form of transportation? I am in NO WAY justifying the act of ignoring t
he warnings on medicines (OTC or prescription). Its just unfair to label her without a proper investigation. She has had some serious medical issues over the years of which could have also been a contributing factor. I believe she made a bad judgment call in taking the medication & drive. So before you go posting inaccurate & potentially slanderous info, you should attempt to get your facts straight.

Slander? Interesting. Perhaps Elizabeth would be willing to return and explain away the fact that as I write this Misty “voice of reason” Dawson is sitting in the Greenville County Detention Center with her bail revoked. Why on earth would her bond have been revoked?

Commenter Tim is probably right when he says it’s due to her being caught in another DUI.

I don’t have a problem with people being addicts. But I do have a problem with them letting their addictions hurt others. She already killed a man while driving around high, and since her bail was revoked she has probably been caught driving under the influence again. How can anyone defend this cretin?

Anyway this is how drunks on our highways end up killing people – luckily this time no one was hurt:

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville County deputies said they are looking for a driver who got away after a chase Thursday morning.

Deputies said they began chasing the car after it did not stop when they tried to pull it over. They said they believe the driver was intoxicated.

Investigators said the driver led deputies through a neighborhood along Pine Creek Drive and Augusta Road before crashing into a mailbox on Bruce Road.

But hey, I’m being a douche for being against drunk driving. This is why this country is doomed.

RAVELERS REST, S.C. — Greenville County deputies said that one person was arrested Wednesday after a chase ended in a crash in Travelers Rest.

Deputies said they tried to stop a yellow sedan whose driver appeared to be drunk around 5 a.m. They said the driver refused to stop and a chase ensued.

The driver headed to Travelers Rest, where local police joined in the pursuit.

The chase ended when the car crashed into an apartment building on Roe Road.

No one was hurt injured in the crash.

The driver’s name has not been released but there’s video at the link. It’s a yellow four door sedan with giant rims, or what I call a ghettomobile.

The stupidity (and classlessness) of this crime is so mind boggling that it’s no surprise the thief was allegedly under the influence.

A police officer assigned to security detail at the visitation said he watched Cato drive the car out of the parking lot of the Thomas McAffee Funeral Home on North Main Street, according to a police incident report. The officer thought Cato was acting suspicious and driving erratic, so he followed the vehicle. A short time later, the car crashed into the light pole.

After the crash, police confirmed that a purse belonging to the wife of former Greenville Police Chief Harold Jennings was stolen from the funeral home. The keys to the Camry were inside the stolen purse, the report said.

Cato was injured in the wreck and taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital, where he was treated.

Cato has been charged with third-degree burglary, grand larceny, driving under the influence, driving under suspension, driving without a license, and driving too fast for conditions.  He is being held at the Greenville County Detention Center in the psychological services unit.

Remember this toad? He was the drunk driver who ran his SUV through a historic cemetery, destroying tombstones and mausoleums that can’t be replaced. He then tried to escape on foot but was caught at which point he tried to bribe police to let him go.Reportedly he offered them $1000 making him either a spoiled rich kid or the kind of guy who thinks he can live through stiffing a dirty cop his bribe money.

He was in court today but as of yet there’s been no statement to the press as to his punishment. Hopefully he gets the book thrown at him.

A police traffic safety task force focusing on DUI and speeding wrote about 40 traffic tickets in Greenville County late into Friday night, bringing the total for the month to about 140 citations, a commander said.

The task force was comprised of about a dozen officers from Fountain Inn, the Greenville Police Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Highway Patrol and Maudlin police, according to Sgt. Robbie Robertson, a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

The officers set up two stationary checkpoints, one on Taylors Road, and one on Chick Springs Road; the hours ran from about 8:45 p.m. to 11 p.m., he said. Then the officers spent another hour patrolling various parts of Greenville County.

While there were just five speeding tickets, the other citations included seven tickets for driving without a valid license and six for tag-related violations, Robertson said.

Two people were issued summons for having marijuana in their vehicles after officers smelled it coming from the cars, and another pair were ticketed because they were watching TV when they encountered the task force, he said

Oh. I see. In other words, there was a road safety task force setting up police checkpoints to screen for DUIs and other violations. I guess a headline like “Task Force Issues 40 tickets in DUI sweep!”  was too pedestrian for The Greenville News. Or how about punching things up with “Drug Bust at DUI Checkpoint!” if you were going for something more like newspaper reporting and less like a reach around to the bureaucrat whose job it is to justify these sweeps to budget conscious city and county officials.

You see, Mr. Walton, the number of tickets during your so-called “law enforcement driving crackdown” is only interesting to the people doing the accounting for the cities involved. The stoners endangering our lives by driving around high or the “unlicensed drivers,” some of whom may be illegal aliens or better yet (in terms of interest), people who have already had their licenses yanked for DUI is what people read the news for. This is what will have an effect on their lives, what they need to read about. Unless the number of tickets is unusually low (meaning the program made the roads safer), the number of tickets handed out is not the lead.

But hey, E. Richard Walton is the “real journalist” here so maybe I’m wrong.

The victim of the wreck has been identified as Kandys Darlene Batson, 25, of Lyman.

Troopers said she was not wearing a seat belt. Batson was partially ejected and the Honda came to rest on her upper body, the coroner said. The medical examiner said she died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

James Duck was also not wearing a seat belt.  He is being held at the Greenville County Detention Center, and has been charged with driving under the influence resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.

WYFF4 notes that records indicate Duck and Batson shared the same address. It is unclear if they were married, although sources confirmed Batson was married.

Update, Dec. 9, 2009: [Reader Holli confirms what one of our sources  says: Duck and Batson were cousins. Sometimes alcohol runs thicker than blood.]

Jennifer Scott Sudderth told the Greenville News, “I am innocent of these charges against me which will be proven in a court of law.”

Sudderth is expected in municipal court on Thursday, where she will likely repeat the excuses she used Saturday night when cops nabbed her swerving her car from lane to lane on Mauldin Road: texting while driving and sleepiness.

Apparently texting while tired will cause you to fail a field sobriety test like Sudderth reportedly did.  I wonder if Sudderth will contend that it also causes the slurred speech, heavy eyelids, and glassy eyes observed by the arresting officer. Sudderth was also allegedly unsteady on her feet and had difficulty locating her driver’s license.

Texting while tired may also cause one to lie to authorities.  Sudderth initally denied visiting any bars Saturday night even though she wore a “Crocs Food & Spirits” wristband.  Perhaps she was going to pass it off as a fashion statement?

Sudderth later admitted to visiting the establishment after drinking two glasses of wine at a friend’s house.  Officers were unable to obtain an adequate Breathalyzer test sample after three tries.  I’m pretty sure that means she was holding her breath (or at least not trying too hard.)

When the officer asked Sudderth if she’d had any liquor she replied, “Liquor? I don’t even know her.”  Okay, maybe that part didn’t happen, but how far outside the realm of possibility did it really sound?

Update, 11/19/09, 4:30 p.m. – Greenville court records show a request for a jury trial was filed on behalf of Jennifer Sudderth this afternoon.

Visit The Hartwell Sun Online for a letter from Mayor-Elect Sudderth in which she pleads for forgiveness.  Not that she did anything wrong. Well, okay then.