said a woman charged with driving under the influence on April 11 did not know the name of her motel and lost her balance while performing field sobriety tests.
A police officer noticed a Jeep SUV driving with its headlights off while being followed by another car down the 9300 block of Cicero Avenue at 9:52 p.m. The SUV made a U-turn toward the officer as the other car parked behind it.
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The other car honked its horn at the driver of the SUV, identified as Marilyn Berkhalter, 48, of Chicago. Berkhalter told the officer that she didn’t know the guy in the car behind her honking his horn, reports said.
The officer said that Berhalter was “thick tongued” when she told him she was staying at the Hampton Inn with her cousin. Unable to give the officer the Hampton Inn’s address, he asked Berkhalter if she was staying at the Midway Inn, where they were parked.
Police determined the man following Berkhalter was her cousin. He told the officer he was honking at Berkhalter because she was driving away with her headlights off.
Berkhalter allegedly admitted to drinking “two bottles of champagne while relaxing in the hot tub with her cousin” at the Midway Inn.
As she got out of the Jeep, the officer said she had to balance herself against the driver’s door. The officer said that she almost fell several times while performing field sobriety tests, which she failed.
Berkhalter’s BAC was .237, above the .08 legal blood-alcohol limit, reports said.
She was charged with two DUIs, not wearing a seatbelt and driving without headlights. Berkhalter’s next court date is June 8.
