DUI suspect crashes into beer distributor
OAKLAND TWP — State police say a woman was drunk on beer Thursday evening when she crashed into of all places — a beer store.
But even before her car slammed into the side of O'Donnell's Beer Distributor on Route 68, Lynly A. Broge, 53, of Butler allegedly cut off the alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet she was ordered to wear after a suspected drunken driving wreck just a week earlier.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton this morning arraigned Broge on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription medication and several traffic violations.
She was placed in the Butler County Prison following arraignment, and she likely will not be on the road any time soon. Stoughton set her bail at $100,000.
Police said the defendant was westbound on Route 68 about 7:35 p.m. when her 2002 Chrysler Sebring crossed the center line and traveled into the parking lot at O'Donnell's.
Then the car struck a block wall before plowing into the building that houses the beer business.
The crash sent the desk of Dennis O'Donnell, company president, across the room. O'Donnell, while sifting through the rubble of his office, was nonetheless counting his blessings.
He said his business closes at 7 p.m. and he was working until at least 6:40 p.m. Had he been delayed Thursday night, he realized he could have been sitting at the desk when his building got the unplanned drive-through entry.
Trooper Chad Savannah said Broge was out of the car when he got there. She smelled of alcohol and appeared impaired.
“Broge admitted to consuming approximately eight beers throughout the day,” Savannah said in his affidavit.She also acknowledged taking medication for depression and muscle relaxation, police said.The suspect was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test. Toxicology tests are pending.Investigators later learned that Broge, who has six prior DUI arrests since 1996, was missing her SCRAM bracelet, short for “Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring.”The tamper-resistant device is strapped to an offender's ankle and analyzes the wearer's perspiration to determine whether the person has been drinking.The device was issued to Broge when she was released following her latest arrest for drunken driving July 5 in Butler.City police said Broge about 9:30 p.m. that day crashed into a parked car on Third Avenue. She drove away but officers found her soon after.She was arraigned on charges of DUI and hit-and-run, and released on her own recognizance.Meanwhile, O'Donnell is still picking up the pieces from Thursday's crash.His primary concern, he said, is that the main computer in his office was damaged and employees cannot access information about invoices and inventory.“However,” he said, “we can still process credit cards and that's important.”Eagle staff writer Kim Paskorz contributed to this report.
