A woman wanted in a Leesburg driving under the influence case has turned herself in as the result of warrant issued for her arrest.
Heather Christina Clark, 50, of Lady Lake, is facing a charge driving under the influence for an incident involving a drug overdose that happened several months ago, according to an arrest report from LCSO.
On the evening of April 22, Leesburg PD officers responded to a traffic complaint at the intersection of South 14th Street and South Street. They received numerous calls stating that a woman driving a maroon Ford Taurus, later identified as Clark, appeared to be incapacitated, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County.
An officer was already in the parking lot of Circle K, located at 900 S 14th St, on the intersection’s southeast corner. As he prepared to leave, an unidentified citizen informed him of the incident. They also stated that other bystanders had removed Clark from her vehicle, the affidavit said.
That officer and another arrived on scene at the same time. They observed two women, both witnesses, rendering aid to Clark as she lied on the ground with her feet still in the driver’s doorway of her vehicle. Another civilian administered a dose of Narcan nasal spray, which is used to treat an overdose in an emergency, but Clark did not appear to respond. Another dose was administered by one of the officers, the affidavit said.
The Leesburg Fire Department and Lake EMS arrived about six minutes later, the affidavit said. As medical personnel began rendering aid, they removed Clark from the driver’s doorway.
That allowed the officers to observe a black latex glove with white powder residue in the pull handle of the door. A closer inspection revealed a small portion of a clear plastic bag containing .06 grams of a white powder underneath the glove. Additionally, a similar plastic bag was seen on the floorboard in front of the driver’s seat. Officers later spotted a Bud Light can on the floorboard in front of the driver’s seat and a bottle of Spiced Rum in the rear passenger seat, the affidavit said.
Clark eventually responded to additional Narcan doses and was taken to UF Health Leesburg Hospital at 600 East Dixie Avenue for evaluation and treatment, the affidavit said.
Both witnesses stated that they saw Clark’s vehicle driving directly into oncoming traffic until several bystanders intervened and got the vehicle to stop. They indicated that they observed Clark being removed from the vehicle before realizing she was unresponsive, did not appear to be breathing and was turning blue, the affidavit said.
Due to this, officers requested a thorough inspection of Clark’s medical records regarding the incident, the affidavit said. Her diagnosis was poisoning by cocaine, and her ethyl alcohol level was 44mg/dL (0.044g/100ml of blood). This was over the normal level of 10 mg/dL but under the legal intoxication limit of 80 mg/dL.
A warrant was issued for Clark’s arrest on Sept. 13 before she turned herself in earlier this week. The Virginia native was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,000 bond. She is expected to appear in court on Nov. 7.
