A 54-year-old Ketchum woman admitted in Blaine County 5th District Court on Monday that she was intoxicated at least two and half times beyond the legal blood-alcohol driving limit when she wrecked her vehicle late last year.
Kimberlee Ann Decker was charged with a felony because of a 2010 conviction of excessive DUI. Idaho law defines excessive DUI as having a blood-alcohol content of at least .20. The legal blood-alcohol limit for driving in Idaho is .08. The law provides that a person can be charged with a felony for a second excessive DUI case against them within a five-year period.
Judge Robert J. Elgee advised Decker that the crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Conviction of the crime has a minimum penalty of at least 30 days in a county jail and a one-year loss of driving privileges.
Sentencing was scheduled for March 10.
The accident leading to the charge against Decker occurred the evening of Oct. 26, 2013, when she lost control of her vehicle and ran off of Cold Springs Drive south of Ketchum. She was not arrested that evening, but was instead transported to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center for evaluation and later issued a citation advising her of the charge.
Decker has remained free since the accident. She is represented by Ketchum attorney Stephen Thompson.
Because of her guilty plea, a second charge, a misdemeanor, of driver possession of an open container of alcohol, was dismissed.
