According to a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office incident report, On Tuesday, May 9th, 2023, at 8:45 PM, Deputy Collins and Sergeant Southern responded to the area of Ledbetter Road in reference to a possible intoxicated driver. According to the report, “Dispatch advised a black in color Infiniti had left the Antioch Convenience and Tobacco Store and was failing to maintain lanes and parked the vehicle in the middle of the road. While patrolling the area, Deputies witnessed a car matching the same description on Sanford Drive. When Deputy Collins pulled onto Sanford Drive, the vehicle backed out of a driveway at a high rate of speed and then erratically took off down the road, almost striking mailboxes and fences. The vehicle turned into another driveway at the dead end of the street and placed the car in park.” Deputy Collins made contact with the driver, Laura Alicia Silva, 44, of Dalton. Deputy Collins immediately noticed a strong smell of alcoholic beverage emitting as she spoke. Laura could not keep her balance and, on several occasions, stumbled over her own feet. Deputies also noticed Laura had urinated all on herself. During standardized field sobriety tests, Laura showed several signs of impairment. Laura was placed under arrest and refused the state test. An NCIC check revealed the vehicle to have a canceled registration, and the tag returned to a 2007 Hyundai Sonata that was not insured. According to the report, “Deputy Collins spoke with the residents on Sandford Way, the original driveway Laura parked in. He stated he heard a commotion coming from his driveway and witnessed Laura strike his metal fence with her vehicle. Laura got out of the car and attempted to fix the fence by pulling on it. When Laura stuck her hand through the fence, the man’s dog bit Laura’s right hand. He stated Laura became irate and started yelling obscenities at him and threatened to kill his dog. Laura saw Deputies pulling onto the street and got back into her car, and drove down the street to her house. Laura was transported to the Whitfield County Jail and charged with duty upon striking a fixed object, reckless driving, driving without insurance, operation of an unregistered vehicle, and DUI driving under the influence.
Dalton woman arrested for DUI after 911 call from concerned citizen in Whitfield County
