Woman arrested on OWI charges

Three children called 911 to tell police they were afraid to be in the car with their mother, who they said had been drinking and was driving erratically.

Marcie Pierson, 32, of New Whiteland, was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle under the influence, neglect of a dependent and operating under the influence with a minor in the vehicle and a previous conviction.

Pierson’s three sons — ages 9, 13 and 15 — called 911 while their mother was driving them to a fast food restaurant around 7:15 p.m. Sunday. They told police that their mother had visited a winery earlier in the day and had been swerving while driving and they believed she was intoxicated. They told police that they were afraid to be in the car with her, a New Whiteland Police Department report said.

When officers arrived at the restaurant on U.S. 31, Pierson was in her car in the drive-thru lane. Two of her sons were standing outside the car, and the youngest was sitting in the back seat. The boys told police their mother had been gone at a winery for five or six hours, and when she came home, she was using a different voice and had mistaken a cellphone as food.

On the way to the restaurant, she had swerved in and out of her lane, they told police.

Pierson became emotional, and the officer saw her stumble and fall to the ground when she tried to sit down. She told police she had two to three glasses of wine earlier in the day, the report said.

Pierson failed field sobriety tests. Her blood alcohol content was .16 percent when she was tested at the New Whiteland Police Department, the report said. Under state law, a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or more is considered too intoxicated to drive.

Pierson, 559 Harvest Meadow Way, was arrested and taken to Johnson County jail. She was released on $3,400 bond.

A father of one of the children was contacted to pick them up, the report said.