Woman Arrested for SECOND DUI after Near Head-On Collision with Deputy

On July 3, 2021 at approximately 1:30 AM, Sergeant Michael Jordan with the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office was driving northbound on SR 195. As he approached milepost 33, he noticed a semi-truck in the southbound lane, along with a 2016 Toyota Tacoma behind the truck that was swerving from the southbound lane into the northbound lane. Sergeant Jordan’s patrol car was nearly involved in a head-on collision due to her driving in the wrong direction, and he had to swerve into the southbound ditch to avoid being struck. He made a U-turn and activated his emergency lights to stop the Toyota Tacoma, but the driver continued swerving past the fog line and refused to stop. He radioed to Whitcom that he was in pursuit, requested a second unit, and continued to follow the vehicle for about 1 mile until the driver pulled over near milepost 32.

Sergeant Jordan proceeded to make contact with the driver, who was identified as 38-year-old Heather Bryan. Heather told the Deputy that she was headed to visit her sister in Idaho. Sergeant Jordan detected the odor of intoxicants in the vehicle and noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and watery. He asked Heather if she had consumed alcohol, but she initially denied it. Around this time, Deputy Cory Alcantar arrived on scene to assist with the traffic stop.

Based on his suspicion of impairment, Sergeant Jordan afforded her an opportunity to perform voluntary field sobriety tests. The first exercise involved the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, where Sergeant Jordan observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees in both tyes. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test, and Heather was unable to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Heather declined to perform this exercise.

Following the field sobriety tests, Heather was asked to voluntarily take a PBT test, but she refused. Based on her erratic driving, her admission to consuming alcohol several hours earlier, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Sergeant Jordan placed Heather under arrest for driving under the influence. Deputy Alcantar searched her vehicle and found 4 bottles of Jim Bean Whisky on the passenger seat and passenger floorboard. Sergeant Jordan transported Heather to the Whitman County Jail for further processing, while Deputy Alcantar remained on scene with the vehicle and dog until Heather’s sister retrieved both.

At the jail, Heather initially asked to speak to an attorney but Sergeant Jordan was unable to make contact with her attorney of choice. She was offered a public defender as an alternative, but she ultimately declined. Afterwards, Sergeant Jordan read the Implied Consent Warnings to Heather and she refused to submit breath samples for testing. However, she did answer his questions despite initially asking for an attorney. During questioning, Heather admitted to consuming a few shots of alcohol earlier in the day but could not recall how many. Since this was her second DUI arrest, she was not allowed to bail out until she appeared before a judge. She was cited under RCW 46.61.502 for driving under the influence along with a refusal to submit breath samples contrary to RCW 46.61.5055 and booked into jail at 4:28 AM pending her DUI hearing.

Records indicate that Heather posted bail the following day on July 4, 2021 at 11:39 AM. On October 7, 2021, Heather pleaded guilty and she was found guilty. She was sentenced to 28 days in jail followed by 60 days EHM and 36 months of supervised probation. She was required to pay a fine of $1,250, a Criminal Conviction Fee of $43, and a Supervised Probation Fee of $600.

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