Wisconsin woman Mary Strey calls 911 to report herself as drunk driver
By Carrie Melago
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally Published:Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 5:25 AM
Updated: Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 11:56 AM
Finley/Getty
Mary Strey calls 911 on herself after getting behind the wheel of her car while drunk.
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> A Wisconsin woman called 911 to report an unlikely drunk driver -- herself.
Mary Strey, 49, of Granton, Wisc., used her cell phone on Oct. 24 to report that, "Somebody's really drunk driving down Granton Road."
The emergency dispatcher, trying to determine the driver's location, asked Strey if she was driving behind the drunk, according to TV station WEAU 13.
"No," she replied, "I am them."
To which the surprised dispatcher replied, "You am them?"
Strey told the dispatcher that she was calling because, "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm drunk."
The dispatcher told Strey to pull over and put on her flashers. "You want to stop driving before you get in an accident," he said.
The responding officer said Strey had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, WQOW-TV reported. She told officers she'd had seven or eight brandy and Cokes at several bars in Neilsville.
Her blood alcohol level was double the legal limit, the Associated Press reported. She was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving and is due back in court Dec. 10.
Strey's cousin, David Strey, told the Daily News he was "surprised" by what happened.
"That was a good thing," David Strey, 62, said of her pulling over. "It would have probably been cheaper if she'd backed off one step and not gotten in the car."
David Strey said Mary Strey once considered opening a tavern, "but I don't know if that fell through."
By Carrie Melago
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally Published:Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 5:25 AM
Updated: Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 11:56 AM
Mary Strey calls 911 on herself after getting behind the wheel of her car while drunk.
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> A Wisconsin woman called 911 to report an unlikely drunk driver -- herself.
Mary Strey, 49, of Granton, Wisc., used her cell phone on Oct. 24 to report that, "Somebody's really drunk driving down Granton Road."
The emergency dispatcher, trying to determine the driver's location, asked Strey if she was driving behind the drunk, according to TV station WEAU 13.
"No," she replied, "I am them."
To which the surprised dispatcher replied, "You am them?"
Strey told the dispatcher that she was calling because, "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm drunk."
The dispatcher told Strey to pull over and put on her flashers. "You want to stop driving before you get in an accident," he said.
The responding officer said Strey had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, WQOW-TV reported. She told officers she'd had seven or eight brandy and Cokes at several bars in Neilsville.
Her blood alcohol level was double the legal limit, the Associated Press reported. She was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving and is due back in court Dec. 10.
Strey's cousin, David Strey, told the Daily News he was "surprised" by what happened.
"That was a good thing," David Strey, 62, said of her pulling over. "It would have probably been cheaper if she'd backed off one step and not gotten in the car."
David Strey said Mary Strey once considered opening a tavern, "but I don't know if that fell through."
