A drunken driver involved in a three-vehicle wreck in 2019 that seriously injured a passenger in another vehicle was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Misty Raquel Wilson, 46, who lists an Ona Circle address in Hot Springs Village, pleaded guilty to a felony count of first-degree battery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was sentenced to five years in prison, and to a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated, first offense, and was sentenced to six months in jail, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $440 in court costs upon her release.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Oct. 10, 2019, shortly before 4:30 p.m., Hot Springs police were dispatched to a wreck in the 2000 block of Park Avenue. Officer 1st Class Tyree Sampson noted there were three vehicles involved, including one that left the roadway and went into the woods.
He made contact with Wilson, the driver of the vehicle, a 2017 Jeep Wrangler, determined to be at fault, who told him another vehicle had crossed the centerline into her lane and collided with her vehicle. Sampson noted, however, that Wilson's vehicle was in the middle of the southbound lane of Park.
While explaining to Wilson all the traffic citations she was being issued, she became irate and started arguing with him. At that time, Sampson says he noted a strong odor of intoxicants emitting from her person. He asked her if she would provide a breath sample and she agreed, but wanted to get a drink out of her car.
Sampson advised Wilson she could do a breath test or take some field sobriety tests and she agreed to the latter, submitting to three field tests which she failed. At that point, she was arrested on suspicion of DWI and she told Sampson she wanted to take a Breathalyzer test.
She registered 0.21% blood alcohol content, almost three times the legal limit. Once at the jail, Wilson was asked how much alcohol she consumed and she initially stated, "a pint of Fireball," but later stated it was a quart of Fireball.
Fireball is a cinnamon-flavored whiskey that is 33% alcohol by volume or 86 proof. At the jail, Wilson provided a second breath sample, which registered her blood alcohol content at 0.18%, still over twice the legal limit.
The affidavit notes that one of the vehicles struck by Wilson's vehicle was a red Ford F-150 pickup in which a female passenger was injured. She was transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs and reportedly sustained two fractures to her spine and three rib fractures on her left side.
Wilson, who had no prior criminal history, was also cited for failure to maintain control, driving left of center and driving a vehicle with no or expired tags and was initially held on a $6,000 bond. She pleaded not guilty to the charges the next day in Garland County District Court where her bond was reduced to $2,500 and she was released on Oct. 12.
The case was bound over to circuit court on Nov. 4 and Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges there on Jan. 7, 2020. The case was continued several times and on July 15, 2021, Wilson's attorney filed a motion for a mental evaluation to determine her fitness to proceed which was granted. On Sept. 21, Wilson was ruled fit to proceed and the case was set for a disposition hearing Tuesday.