“I’m Not Drunk”
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Saturday, June 6, 2020, Stringtown Assistant Police Chief Zachary Rice observed a blue 2007 Chevrolet HHR SUV traveling south on Highway 69 going 82 miles per hour in a 70 mile per hour zone.
Officer Rice made contact with the driver, Sadie Leann Nichols, 33, of Atoka. Nichols had a minor passenger in the vehicle and stated she did not have her license in the vehicle.
Nichols’ speech was thick and lethargic when speaking to the officer. Officer Rice ran Nichols’ information and was advised her license was expired.
The officer asked Nichols to exit her vehicle. She was very unsteady on her feet. Officer Rice asked if she had been drinking. Nichols stated she had drank heavily the night before, but was not intoxicated she had just woken up.
Officer Rice advised Nichols he could smell an odor of alcohol on her person, and asked if she would submit to a Preliminary Breath Test (PBR).
Nichols agreed to take the test, blowing 0.223. Legally intoxicated in Oklahoma is 0.08, she was nearly three times above the legal limit. She agreed to take the Standardized Field Sobriety Test.
After being given the directions to walk in a straight line, heel to toe, Nichols stated she understood. She began walking then turned left heading directly into oncoming traffic. The test was stopped for safety. She was given another PBR which resulted in 0.224.
Nichols was allowed to call her boyfriend to take the minor child from the scene. Atoka County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Anderson arrived to assist, placing the minor in his unit, for safety reasons, to sit with until the boyfriend arrived.
The child was released into the care of Nichols’ boyfriend with the understanding that the Department of Human Services would be contacted.
Nichols was placed under arrest, refusing to submit to the State’s testing for blood alcohol content. Upon transport, Nichols became angry, yelling at Officer Rice and making derogatory statements towards police officers.
Once at the Atoka County Jail, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper John Fugate arrived to administer a third Intoxilyzer test. Nichols became belligerent, blowing 0.20 on the scale, but refused to take the rest of the test.
She continued to yell and curse at Officer Rice as she was booked into the Atoka County Jail.
Nichols is charged with child endangerment by driving under the influence (felony), driving a motor vehicle while under the influence alcohol aggravated (misdemeanor), and speeding in excess of lawful maximum limit (misdemeanor).
