Alleged drunk driver crashes into truck while using phone

Madison Llewelyn Smith

By Joe Johnson

Madison Smith, 31, of Hull was arrested this month after crashing her Jeep into another vehicle allegedly while driving drunk.

According to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the incident happened as follows:

On the night of April 2 Smith was driving home on Hull Road from downtown Athens after having drank some wine.

She looked down at her phone just before her Jeep Cherokee plowed into the rear of a pickup truck that was stopped for a red light at Voyles Road.

Responding officers smelled alcoholic beverage on Smith’s breath and put her through a series of sobriety tests, which she failed.

Breath testing administered at the scene indicated that Smith had a blood-alcohol concentration of .269 percent, which is over three times the legal limit.

She was arrested and charged with DUI, distracted driving, and following another vehicle too closely.

The driver and a passenger in the pickup truck both complained of neck and back pain but refused treatment.