A 9-1-1 dispatcher for Ross County remains on the job and uncharged after crashing her car while going to work in what is being labeled as a DUI.
According to a report from the Chillicothe Police Department, Keipher Scott, 26, crashed her car February 27 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.
“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. that 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 was was taken to Adena Regional and later, transported to Columbus, where she was on a ventilator.
At the time, Captain Michael Short with the Chillicothe Police Department said that Scott would be charged with driving under the influence and failure to control once she was released from the hospital; the reason, Short said, for holding back the citations were that officers wanted to ensure Scott was coherent enough to understand what she was being charged with and that she could make her court arraignment. The Guardian also reached out to Ross County Sheriff George Lavender at the time of the crash to inquire if Scott would be suspended or terminated from her job; the Sheriff did not return requests for comment.
Fast forward to today, more than 45 days after the crash, and Scott has been released from the hospital and still employed as a Ross County dispatcher, without any criminal charges.
When the Guardian reached out to Short on Thursday inquiring about the status of the charges, he replied that the police department was waiting for Scott’s health to “improve.”
“I have spoken to the officer investigating this incident and he is waiting for her health to improve, so that he can issue her a citation and she can appear in court,” Short said on Thursday.
Co-workers of Scott said she remains employed as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, despite her admissions and the fact that she was headed to work when she crashed. The Guardian reached out to the Sheriff for comment on Thursday, but he refused to release a statement. The Guardian also reached out to Scott’s union — Teamster Local 284 — for comment; a message left with the union President was not immediately returned.
Bodycam of crash:
This article was updated to reflect that Scott remains employed, but has not returned to the building due to sick leave.
