A Kentucky woman has been arrested and charged with hitting four pedestrians with her Tesla Model 3 while driving under the influence in downtown Lexington in the early hours of Sunday.
Kaydence Carpenter, 20, from Frankfort, was apprehended after police say video shows her calmly reversing her black Tesla in a parking lot before abruptly plowing forward straight through a crowd of people at 2.20 a.m. Sunday morning.
The suspect’s car can be seen in surveillance video of the incident obtained by WKYT mounting the curb and surging through the assembled pedestrians, sending several flying off her hood, before proceeding in the wrong direction down Short Street.
She was then quickly stopped by officers who wrote in their arrest citation that her actions “created substantial danger of death and/or serious physical injury to others.”
Carpenter had displayed an “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” the police added.
The arresting officers further said she “exhibited bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, a variety of emotional effects, and the odor of an alcoholic beverage radiated from her person” when she spoke to them.
They reported recovering a fake ID and a valid driving license during a routine search of her vehicle.
According to the citation, Carpenter refused a breath test at the scene and showed signs of impairment during a field sobriety test she did later participate in at Fayette County Detention Center.
Carpenter can be seen smiling in her mugshot.
The suspect was ultimately charged with four counts of second-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment, DUI, reckless driving and licensee allowing a person under the age of 21 on premises where alcohol is sold.
She was released later Sunday after posting a $5,000 bond.
Carpenter is scheduled to be arraigned in Fayette District Court on Monday, according to court records.
