Crime & Safety
Woman Charged With 3rd OWI After Hitting Mailbox, Landing in Ditch
South Milwaukee woman crashed on S. Pennsylvania Ave. in January.
A 49-year-old South Milwaukee woman is facing her third drunken driving charge after her vehicle went into a ditch and knocked down a mailbox in front of an Oak Creek home.
Linda Perry-Harris was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of third-offense operating while intoxicated. If convicted, she faces up to one year in county jail and $2,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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On Jan. 28, Perry-Harris was driving in the 6600 block of S. Pennsylvania Ave. when her car left the road, hit a mailbox, went across a driveway and struck a snow bank.
A short time later, an officer on patrol came by and found the car in a ditch.
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Perry-Harris had slurred speech and told the officer she had one Long Island ice tea and a beer before driving. She had difficulty understanding the directions of a field sobriety test and refused to continue.
She had a blood alcohol level of 0.164 at the time of the incident, which is twice the legal limit to drive in Wisconsin.
Perry-Harris was previously convicted of OWI in 1993 and 1997. She will make her initial court appearance April 5.
