BEDFORD— A Bedford woman was arrested on Saturday, July 13, after Bedford Police Officers responded to an accident in the 2000 block of Washington Avenue at 12:57 a.m.
The dispatcher reported that a vehicle had sideswiped a parked car.
When police arrived, they found a black Toyota Corolla with heavy front-end damage. Police found 32-year-old Suzanna Johnson walking on the sidewalk toward the officers, talking on a cell phone. She was asking someone to get her dogs.
When asked if she was involved in the accident, she said yes. She told police she was driving home and had “misaligned.” She said she was coming from her parent’s home in Oolitic. She told police she was traveling south on Washington Avenue when she struck the parked 2021 GMC Acadia.
Police said they could smell the odor of alcohol when Johnson was speaking. She had poor balance, and her speech was slurred. When Officer Zakry Brooking asked if she had been drinking, she said no.
Officer Brooking asked Johnson for her license, insurance, and registration. While Johnson was retrieving her paperwork, Officer Brooking spoke to the vehicle owner, Jessica New, who was hit. The vehicle had damage to the driver’s side rear bumper, rear tire, and rear passenger door. New did not witness that accident but heard it.
Three witnesses told police they came outside after hearing the crash and said Johnson was attempting to flee the scene. They were looking at the damage to the Acadia when Johnson exited her vehicle and approached them. She asked them not to call the police until the morning, and she would pay for the damage. They informed her they had already contacted law enforcement. She then asked if anyone was injured and was told no one was in the vehicle. She returned to her car and then came back and asked several more times if everyone in the vehicle was okay. She was told repeatedly no one was in the car at the time of the accident. She again asked them not to call the police and offered them $100 not to call.
A neighbor told police he heard Johnson on her phone telling someone she had been drinking.
Police then spoke again to Johnson, who they found sitting on the ground. She told police she had just renewed her vehicle and that her insurance did not provide a paper copy of her policy. She was asked again if she had been drinking, and she stated, “I think so.”
Johnson failed several field sobriety tests. She tested positive for alcohol on a preliminary breath test. She was asked to consent to a blood draw, which she agreed to.
Johnson was detained and placed in the back of Officer Daugherty’s police car. She was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital for a blood draw and a medical evaluation. While at the hospital, police say, Johnson had an “abusive attitude toward the hospital staff.” She was yelling and screaming and was told several times to stop, or she would be charged with disorderly conduct. She continued being abusive. Due to her behavior, she was moved to an adjacent hallway away from other patients.
While in the hallway, Johnson attempted to walk off, and Officer Daughtery grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. Johnson began to “forcibly pull her arms away and was taken to the ground.”
Officers attempted to help her up, but she again tried to pull away and was taken to the ground a second time.
Once medically cleared, she was transported to jail on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, OWI endangerment, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest by force.
Blands Wrecker Service towed her vehicle.
