Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for felony impaired driving following a weekend driving complaint in the north part of the city.

The Police Department reports officers eventually pulled over a white 2017 Jeep Renegade driven by a 48-year-old woman near the intersection of NW Lawnridge and Midland avenues on Saturday at about 4:15 p.m..

Police said a citizen called 9-1-1 to report a possible intoxicated driver who was failing to maintain her travel lane, driving into oncoming traffic while nearly striking several vehicles, driving up on sidewalks and stopping for long periods of time at stop signs. The citizen followed the suspect until officers arrived on scene.

Upon contact with the female driver, officers said she was parked on the side of the road and slumped down in the driver seat. She was identified, showed numerous signs of impairment and eventually admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages and smoking marijuana. She also performed poorly in field sobriety testing.

The woman was transported to the Josephine County Jail where she provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. Further investigation revealed that her driving privileges had been suspended and she had not installed an ignition interlock device on her vehicle as required after past impaired driving arrests.

The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Driving While Suspended and Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device. She was being held without bail and her Jeep was towed.