Arrested Driver Had Twice Legal Limit of Alcohol, CHP Says

A Ventura County woman had a blood-alcohol content more than twice the level of legal drunkenness when she was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving last week, authorities said, the night before she was arrested again after an accident that killed three young men and injured two others.

Diane Helen Mannes, 34, of Somis had blood-alcohol readings of 0.25% and 0.26% in two Breathalyzer tests shortly after she was arrested at 1:10 a.m. Thursday, California Highway Patrol Officer Rick Carter said. A blood-alcohol level of 0.10% is considered legally drunk.

Mannes was taken to the Van Nuys Division jail at 2 a.m. and released on her own recognizance eight hours later, a Los Angeles police spokesman said.

Friday night, Mannes was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after a fatal accident on the westbound Ventura Freeway east of Camarillo.

Mannes’ blood-alcohol reading after the accident will not be available for another week, CHP Officer Lisa Sowell said. The tests are being conducted on her blood.

Mannes was released Monday afternoon from Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where she was treated for minor injuries, a nursing supervisor said.

Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory D. Totten said Mannes is not in custody but is in a “lock and key” situation at a hospital that was identified by Sowell as Simi Valley Adventist Hospital in Simi Valley.