Police say drunk driver hit worker; reminds public of move over law

Alessandra Young
·2 min read
3

CLEARWATER, Fla., (WFLA) – A construction worker was hospitalized after a woman suspected of drunk driving crashed into a truck Friday.

The crash happened just before 3 a.m. along the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

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Investigators say the driver, Andra Newkirk, was heading westbound.

According to police, the victim is expected to make a full recovery and everyone involved is very lucky because this could have turned deadly.

The crews working in the early hours saw a driver who police said was driving fast and recklessly.

“They actually radioed ahead to the truck she eventually hit: hey, be careful, there’s some reckless driver headed your way. So, they even saw the warning signs,” said Rob Shaw, with Clearwater Police.

These workers were doing all of the right things and had their lights on, cones surrounding them, and signs up to alert drivers there was road work being done.

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“She passed multiple other road work vehicles that were alerting there was stuff going on,” Shaw said.

Shaw said despite all the work lights illuminating the road, Newkirk never slowed down or even applied her brakes.

“It was a very serious incident and we’re just glad, I mean the driver, she could have been dead, easily, she slammed into that car. You saw the front of her car; it was really mangled,” he said.

After the crash, investigators said they saw signs that Newkirk was drunk driving and police did field sobriety testing before they arrested her.

“We’re extremely fortunate that she wasn’t killed and extremely fortunate that the worker in that truck wasn’t hurt more seriously or killed,” Shaw said.

No matter the reason, or the day, Shaw said there is no excuse for drunk driving.

As Memorial Day approaches, Clearwater Police will have more hands on, deck ensuring people are driving safely.

“Any holiday, we find the numbers in drunk driving jumps and so, we will have an increased enforcement out on the causeway, on US-19, and other main thoroughfares,” Shaw said.

Newkirk is charged with DUI with property damage.

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