Woman charged in connection to DUI crash

UPDATE 3/24/24 10:30 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ)- A woman has been charged in connection to a DUI crash that happened Friday night in Charleston.

According to a criminal complaint from Kanawha County Magistrate Court, Teresa Thomas, 62, of Charleston, was charged with DUI causing bodily injury.

The complaint said officers were working a crash in the 2400 block of Washington Street East in Kanawha County, where a silver sedan struck another vehicle, sending three people to the hospital with injuries.

A deputy with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling the Piedmont Road area, where he saw a silver Nissan Altima turn onto Dry Branch Road with heavy damage.

Deputies stopped the vehicle on Dry Branch Road in Kanawha County, where Thomas was on her phone in the vehicle. Deputies also noticed that the airbag in the car had been deployed and that she had been driving with it in that state.

Deputies also noticed that the front end of the vehicle had heavy damage, missing auto body parts, and the driver’s side was damaged with red paint transfer.

The complaint also stated deputies administered a series of field sobriety tests to Thomas.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Charleston Police say a vehicle backing out of a driveway on Washington Street East was slammed into by a driver suspected of driving under the influence.

Police say the vehicle hit with enough force to knock the vehicle into the neighboring parking lot of a nearby bar. They say the driver accused of DUI fled the scene but was pulled over when an officer noticed the vehicle’s bumper hanging off of the car.

Police say the two adults and one child inside the vehicle were taken to the hospital and are expected to be okay.