Woman to Be Arraigned in Drunk Driving Case

A Huntington Beach woman accused of driving into a Ventura Freeway divider after imbibing her way to a blood-alcohol level nearly 6 1/2 times the legal limit was charged with drunk driving, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Dawn Elizabeth Robertson, 30, faces four misdemeanors, including driving on a suspended license and not having proof of insurance, according to Deputy City Atty. Elizabeth Gertz.

If convicted, Robertson could be sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in county jail and fined as much as $500. She is scheduled to be arraigned April 30.

“In my experience this is the highest blood-alcohol levels I have ever seen,” Gertz said. “And that’s in 15 1/2 years as a prosecutor.”

Several motorists saw the 1989 Geo Spectrum driving erratically on the westbound Ventura Freeway March 12, just after the start of the evening rush hour, California Highway Patrol officers said.

The car narrowly missed other vehicles as it drifted back and forth across freeway lanes, slowing to 3 mph, Gertz said.

After her vehicle twice hit the center divider, Robertson came to a stop in the fast lane, according to CHP investigators. But officers could not immediately administer a field sobriety test because of Robertson’s “altered level of consciousness,” the prosecutor said.

Tested later at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills, Robertson registered a .51% blood-alcohol count. The legal limit in California is .08%.

While it was unusual for people to test at more than six times the legal limit, authorities said it was not unprecedented in people with a long history of alcohol abuse.