Repeat Drunk Driver Arrested In Riverside Trying To Fill Gas Tank With Kerosene
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman who has had her license revoked several times for drunk driving, and had her children taken away by authorities in Minnesota, was arrested Monday night in west suburban Riverside.
Police said officers found her trying to fill up her gas tank with kerosene, and with an open bottle of whisky in her car.
Tasha Lynn Schleicher, 41, has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated drunk driving, and two misdemeanor counts of drunk driving. She was also charged with driving without insurance, driving on a revoked license, and transportation of open alcohol while driving.
Police said she has a lengthy record of drunk driving arrests, and had her children taken away from her last year, after driving drunk with five children in her car, and starting to breastfeed a baby while intoxicated.
"This is one of the worst impaired driving arrests our agency has ever made. Schneider's history of six prior DUI's in six states, with three outstanding warrants from various states speaks to her transient nature. When she was arrested in a state, she would just not show up in court unless she was held in custody. That's one of the reasons for so many outstanding warrants," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said.
Riverside police said they received a 911 call around 9:30 p.m. Monday about a woman passed out behind the wheel of her car at a gas station at 34th and Harlem.
When officers arrived, they found Schleicher sitting in a running car, awake and alert. Police said it appeared she had tried to fill up her car with kerosene instead of gasoline.
Officers also noticed she was highly intoxicated, had bloodshot eyes, and had a strong scent of alcohol on her breath. They also spotted an open bottle of Crown Royal whisky in the front passenger's seat.
Witnesses told police she had been drinking from the bottle before officers arrived.
"Her clothes were literally falling off her when officers escorted her to the rear of the car for field sobriety testing," police said in a news release.
Police said Schleicher told officers she could not find her 11 children, but police could find no children nearby, and witnesses said she was the only one in the car when she pulled up to the gas station.
When she was arrested, she allegedly gave police a fake name, birthdate, and social security number.
After taking Schleicher's fingerprints, officers discovered she had several previous drunk driving arrests in multiple states, dating back to 2007, police said. She was also wanted on three out-of-state warrants connected to drunk driving charges.
Police said Schleicher continued to insist she had been with her kids; and also insisted she was pregnant, bleeding, and having a miscarriage. Police took her to the hospital, where doctors determined she was not pregnant, nor suffering any medical problems.
Weitzel said he believes she made up the pregnancy in an effort to escape when she got to the hospital.
When Riverside officers contacted police in her home town of New Hope, Minnesota, they learned her children had been taken away from her after allegedly driving drunk with five children in the car, and breastfeeding one child while intoxicated last September.
In that case, according to the charges, a Rochester police officer was heading southbound on Highway 52 on Sept. 23, 2017, when he observed a vehicle drift off the road and hit the center median cable barrier. The vehicle continued to sideswipe the barrier at highway speed for about 200 feet. Debris was coming off the vehicle and it caused other vehicles to swerve to avoid hitting it.
The complaint states the vehicle exited Highway 52 about five miles later at 75th Street NW. The vehicle pulled over to the shoulder and stopped. An officer made contact with the driver, identified as Schleicher. She appeared to be confused and under the influence of drugs or alcohol. An officer also observed she had started to breast feed her infant child.
According to the charges, a Rochester police officer was heading southbound on Highway 52 at 3:42 p.m. Saturday when he observed a vehicle drift off the road and hit the center median cable barrier. The vehicle continued to sideswipe the barrier at highway speed for about 200 feet. Debris was coming off the vehicle and it caused other vehicles to swerve to avoid hitting it.
The complaint states the vehicle exited Highway 52 about five miles later at 75th Street NW. The vehicle pulled over to the shoulder and stopped. An officer made contact with the driver, identified as Schleicher. She appeared to be confused and under the influence of drugs or alcohol. An officer also observed she had started to breast feed her infant child.
Riverside police said Schleicher claimed she was in Illinois to drop off the only child she still has custody of, a 15-year-old boy, so he could "party" in Indiana for spring break.
"We're working on locating that child, but so far haven't been successful because she's not cooperative. We're dealing with Minnesota Child Protective Services and other social agencies to try to get a lead on the 15 year old in Indiana," Weitzel said in an email.
