A Ross County Sheriff’s dispatcher is on a ventilator and has been charged with DUI after crashing her car on her way to work.
According to a report from the Chillicothe Police Department, Keipher Scott, 26, crashed her car Saturday night along Yocktangee Parkway while driving into work. Officers wrote in their report that just before 11:30 p.m., they were dispatched to the accident involving four vehicles. When they arrived, they found that one person — Scott — was still trapped inside one of the cars and was in the back seat.
Officers say Scott was driving along the street when she crossed the roadway and hit another car, along with two parked vehicles.
“While waiting for medical assistance, Ms. Scott stated this is a ‘wake up call,'” the officer wrote in his report. “Ms. Scott stated that she is an alcoholic.” The officer said he asked her if she was under the influence of alcohol and she replied that she “probably was,” according to the report; Scott said she was drinking wine earlier in the day.
Scott told officers that she was on her way to work at the Ross County Sheriff’s office where she has been employed as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for approximately one year and that she was running late, the report reads. According to public records obtained by the Guardian, Scott was scheduled to start her shift at the Sheriff’s office at 11 p.m. Saturday night but failed to show up. That’s when co-workers began calling her, asking where she was. Law enforcement sources who spoke to the Guardian on conditions of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter said that Scott told her colleagues she was having car troubles and would be there as soon as she could. It was about 20 minutes later when the crash occurred on Yocktangee Parkway.
Scott was severely injured in the crash and has two broken legs and several broken ribs, according to social media postings by family members. She was taken to the hospital and later underwent surgery on Sunday. Family members said that she is on a ventilator and remains in the intensive care unit at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.
Captain Michael Short with the Chillicothe Police Department said that Scott will be charged with driving under the influence and failure to control once she is released from the hospital.
The Guardian asked Ross County Sheriff George Lavender about the current status of Scott’s employment with the Sheriff’s office given the allegations lodged against her, and if he had any comment on what would have happened if Scott showed up to work and handled emergency calls while under the influence; the Sheriff did not answer the questions.
If you or a loved one suffers from alcoholism, free help is available. SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral service. Please call 800-662-HELP (4357).
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A Ross County Sheriff’s dispatcher is on a ventilator and has been charged with DUI after crashing her car on her way to work.
