A 67-year-old lady turned an Indiana courthouse lawn into a drift track after having too many Margaritas.
Indiana might be famous in the world of motorsports, but a 67-year-old woman drifting on a courthouse lawn is still unheard of in the Hoosier State. Although the stunt looked deliberate, it actually turned out to be the chaotic result of an unlikely chain of events, kicked off by one margarita too many.
An Accident Waiting to Happen
Lorraine Phyllis Wilkerson probably just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner and treat a friend to a drink. However, she severely overestimated both her alcohol tolerance and her driving capabilities. A server later reported that Wilkerson drank an entire "Jumbo Special" margarita and even finished the rest of her friend's glass before getting behind the wheel. To make matters worse, she had not eaten all day, and the Mexican restaurant was located directly next to the Jennings County Courthouse in Vernon.
What followed left the local Sheriff's Office speechless. When Wilkerson shifted her silver sedan into reverse to exit her parking space, she accidentally floored the gas pedal. Highly intoxicated and disoriented, she completely lost control as the vehicle hopped the curb, tore across the lawn, and began spinning tight reverse donuts. During the involuntary joyride, Wilkerson took out a county sign and narrowly missed light poles, trees, and a brick bench.
The Involuntary Drift
The wild ride only stopped when deputies and emergency responders rushed to the vehicle. Even then, Wilkerson's confusion was on full display: she tried to throw the car back into drive, completely unaware the engine had already stalled out. After insisting to officers that she was "fine," she even tried cranking the ignition to finish her drive home.
Deputies quickly took the driver into custody. A preliminary breath test revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.09%, putting her over Indiana's legal limit of 0.08%. Wilkerson was booked into the Jennings County Jail and charged with two Class C misdemeanor counts: Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated and Operating with an ACE of 0.08% or Higher. The sheer absurdity of the joyride prompted the Sheriff's Office to post a tongue-in-cheek PSA on social media, warning drivers that if they have one too many margaritas, "definitely don't do donuts on the courthouse lawn."
Would you have guessed those donuts were actually a parking fail? Let us know in the comments!
