“A weeks ago, a police officer saw a car driving southbound on Roselle Road with a 15-foot tree embedded in the front grill of the car,” began a report posted on Facebook by the Roselle Police Department.
It added: “After stopping the driver, he also noticed the airbags had been deployed (apparently from hitting the tree). After investigation, the Roselle officer arrested the driver for driving under the influence of alcohol.”
The images posted by the Illinois-based force of the 2004 Lincoln have gone viral since being published with the accompanying sentence: “Yet another reason why you should not drink and drive!”
The incident happened on the evening of January 23. Police said the driver, Maryann Christy, 54, told police that she struck the tree somewhere in her hometown, but did not remember where.
Officers said the woman smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests. She is due to appear in court on April 15.
“We didn’t stand there and measure it, but it was a big tree,” Roselle Deputy Chief Roman Tarchala told the Chicago Tribune.
