By Charlie Gainor, Staff Writer

A woman was arrested in Mason last week after police found her driving while under the influence in the parking lot of Kings Island while hundreds of people were leaving the park after it closed.

Charlie Hale, a Warren County Deputy, was on special detail to help with crowd control as the park closed down for the day when he saw a white Chevy Malibu driving erratically through the parking lot. Hale stopped the car and asked the driver, 45-year-old Amanda Mcghee, why she was driving. Mcghee, who according to the chief was visibly intoxicated, claimed that since she had not left the parking lot, she believed that she was still allowed to drive. 

Hale arrested and booked her at the Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Lebanon, where she was charged with one count of Operating a Vehicle Impaired. A breathalyzer test showed that Mcghee’s blood-alcohol content was 0.277, over three times the state BAC limit. The average amount of alcohol consumption needed to reach the limit of 0.08 is around two to four drinks in an hour, according to several sources including the University of Arizona’s School of Health. A BAC  level near 0.3 has side effects of confusion, vomiting, and drowsiness, while also risking alcohol poisoning and loss of consciousness. A BAC of 0.3 equates to about 15 drinks, which can be fatal for some young people and more than likely lead to significant gaps in memory.

According to Hale’s sheriff report, Mcghee claimed that she was a government worker and a bus driver, though Metro did not confirm to news outlets that she was one of their employees. She was arraigned and released on her own volition shortly after her booking, with her court session beginning last Thursday.

Mcghee was charged on a high-level OVI for a BAC over 0.170 and will face up to six months in jail, five years of probation, and a fine of $1,075. No updates have been released on the outcome of her trial at this time.