Ex-Miss USA Rima Fakih reaches plea deal in DUI case
(CBS News) Rima Fakih, the first Arab-American to be crowned Miss USA, pleaded no contest Wednesday in her DUI case.
"You learn, you pay your price for making mistakes and you move on. I'm very happy I can put this behind me," Fakih said outside the court in Highland Park, an enclave of Detroit.
A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing, which will take place May 9. She faces a maximum of 93 days in jail.
A trial had been planned before 30th District Court Judge Brigette Officer on the original charges of drunken driving, careless driving and having an open container of alcohol, all misdemeanors.
Fakih, 26, has said she wasn't drinking the night of her arrest in December, but two police breath tests put her blood alcohol content at over twice the legal limit.
Police said Fakih was driving 60 mph in a 30 mph zone and her auto was weaving in and out of traffic before they pulled the car over. Officers said they found an open bottle of champagne behind the driver's seat of the 2011 Jaguar.
Fakih won the Miss USA Pageant in 2010, becoming the first Arab-American to do so.