A Chardonnay-sipping Villager blamed her erratic driving on a phone conversation with her sister.
Brenda Gail Perdieu, 74, who lives in the Clayton Villas in the Village of Ashland, was driving a white Honda CRV sport utility vehicle at about 11 p.m. Friday in the area of County Road 109 and U.S. Hwy. 441 when it was found parked on the right curb shoulder, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy came up behind Perdiue’s SUV and hit the siren to get her attention. Perdieu continued on U.S. Hwy. 441, but her erratic driving raised concerns that the South Carolina native was having a medical episode or driving impaired.
During a traffic stop, Perdieu said she had been “talking to her sister on the phone.” Her eyes were bloodshot and her speech was “extremely slurred.” She said she had consumed two glasses of Chardonnay with her friends.
She struggled through field sobriety exercises and provided breath samples that registered .181 and .169 blood alcohol content. An inventory of her vehicle turned up two bottles of Sutter Home wine, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. Both bottles were cold to the touch and unopened.
She was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. She was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $750 bond.
