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Baltimore woman arrested twice in 20 minutes for DUI

The woman was processed, released to a sober driver and told not to drive for 12 hours, according to police

Sarah Meehan
The Baltimore Sun

A Baltimore woman was arrested twice in 20 minutes early Saturday for drunken driving, according to state police.

Maryland State Police arrested and charged Stephanie Ringgold, 33, with driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated and other traffic charges.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, a state trooper on Route 40 near Berk Avenue in Rosedale saw a gray Dodge Charger speeding and passing another vehicle on the shoulder of the road. The trooper stopped the car and noticed Ringgold, the driver, was impaired, police said.

She was arrested and taken to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Essex precinct.

During the first traffic stop, Ringgold had three passengers in the car — a 4-year-old, a 6-month-old and another adult, police said. She was charged with DUI while transporting a minor and DUI per se while transporting a minor, charges that carry additional penalties.

Ringgold was processed, released to a sober driver and told not to drive for 12 hours, according to police.

Maryland is among the 10 states with the fewest alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the country, according to a recent study.

The website SafeWise used 2016 data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. census to rank states by number of drunken driving deaths...

But within 20 minutes, the same officer who first arrested Ringgold watched her come back to the Dodge Charger, get in the driver’s seat and drive away, according to police. Because Ringgold still showed signs of impairment, the trooper arrested her again and she was taken to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Towson Precinct. She was processed again and released to a sober driver.

A court date for Ringgold has not yet been scheduled. Ringgold could not be reached for comment and did not have an attorney listed in court records.

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©2018 The Baltimore Sun

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