A Thomasville woman found passed out in her car at a Peeler Road gas station was charged with drug possession and driving while impaired.
Alicia Dondrell Hughes, 26, of Cunningham Road, was charged with driving while impaired, possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.
The incident occurred Wednesday around 9 p.m. when law enforcement received a phone call about a possible drunk driver who was still at the pump at Wilco-Hess, 985 Peeler Road.
When Rowan Sheriff’s deputy M.M. Causey arrived, he found Hughes in her still-running car slumped over leaning toward the passenger’s seat. He shouted, but got no response. The officer opened the door and shook the woman, who did respond. A report said the woman appeared intoxicated and had slurred speech.
Hughes was unsteady on her feet when the officer asked her to step out of the vehicle. The officer noted he did not smell alcohol on Hughes, the report said. Before having Hughes’ vehicle towed, the officer cataloged her belongings and discovered 14 methadone pills inside her change tray. The officer searched her purse and inside it were five alprazolam (a generic form of Xanax) pills and one oxycodone pill.
Hughes told the officer she had been at work since 10 a.m. that day. A report said she is a dancer at 2nd Breath.
While at the Rowan County Magistrate’s Office completing paperwork, Hughes, who was sitting on a bench, seemed to have passed out again. She fell off the bench and jumped up unfazed, a report said.
She was not injured, but was issued a $500 secured bond. She became belligerent at hearing her bond amount, cursing at the officer.