Woman charged with DUI in Riverside following crash at gas station

RIVERSIDE - A Chicago woman was charged Sunday with driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash at a Riverside gas station, police said.

Roxanne M. White, 35, of the 2600 block of West Adams Street, also was charged with hit and run property damage and several other traffic citations following the crash, which occurred at about 3:19 a.m. at the Amstar gas station, 3416 S. Harlem Ave.

A Riverside police officer was on an unrelated traffic stop on Harlem Avenue when he heard what sounded like a crash in the 3400 block of Harlem, according to police.

As the officer approached the gas station, a car that had front-end damage passed him at a high speed. The officer stopped the car at Harlem Avenue and Lawton Road.

Police later learned that there was a hit-and-run crash at Amstar in which a car hit a metal retaining bar that protects the gas pumps. The car that police stopped had hit the gas pump and fled the scene, police said.

The arresting officer could clearly smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from the vehicle and the driver, according to the release.

White was asked to complete roadside field sobriety testing for DUI, which she did, and failed all testing. At this time, she was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Once in police custody, White refused to take a breathalyzer test. She reportedly told police, "I have a lawyer from my last DUI arrest, and he told me to not blow,” police said.

Police had the gas station pumps inspected, but they were not damaged to the extent that they needed to be taken out of service.