Woman Blows Nearly TRIPLE the Limit After Thanksgiving Party

On November 28, 2024 at approximately 8:56 PM, Officer Donna Zorbas with the Wauconda Police Department investigated a suspicious vehicle incident in the parking lot 547 W Liberty Street after she observed a vehicle in the middle of the parking lane with its driver side door open. She approached the 2019 Honda Accord and observed that a female was in the front seat with her head bent out of the car. The driver was later identified as 23-year-old Breanna Pflugradt, and she told Officer Zorbas that she was feeling nauseous.

Breanna told Officer Zorbas that she was heading home after a Thanksgiving party at her friend’s place. As she was speaking with Breanna, she observed indicators of impairment even though she denied drinking. Officer Zorbas administered the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test as Breanna was seated inside the car, and she observed indicators of impairment. Based on her suspicion of impairment, Officer Zorbas asked Breanna to exit the vehicle perform additional field sobriety exercises. The next exercise was the Walk and Turn test, and Breanna failed to follow instructions because she walked backwards as she returned to the starting position. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Breanna was unable to complete this test satisfactorily.

Officer Zorbas then placed Breanna inside the back of her patrol car as she waited for another officer to bring the portable breathalyzer. As she was speaking with her inside the patrol car, she detected the odor of alcohol. Breanna agreed to submit to a PBT, and the results showed a BAC level of 0.230%, which was nearly triple the legal limit of 0.08%.

Based on the odor of alcohol, her indicators of impairment, her admission to consuming alcohol earlier that day, her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, and the results of the PBT, Officer Zorbas placed Breanna under arrest for driving under the influence. She was handcuffed, placed in the patrol car, and transported to the Wauconda Police Department for further processing.

At the Wauconda Police Department, the Warning to Motorist form was read to her and she agreed to provide breath samples. Her breath samples indicated a BAC level of 0.197%, which was still more than double the legal limit of 0.08%. After she was processed at the station, she was released with the following summonses pending her court appearance:

-Driving under the influence - alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2))

-Driving under the influence - BAC .08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1))

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