Aspen woman arrested for DUI with child in car
A local woman whose car ran out of gas Thursday night on Main Street was arrested for drunken driving and child abuse after an Aspen cop stopped to help her push the vehicle, police said.
Leslie Curley, 51, was charged with the child abuse count because a child was in the car at the time, as well as DUI, according to police records and Aspen police Detective Jeff Fain.
Fain said he was driving home about 7:30 p.m. when he saw a Land Rover with its emergency flashers on in the middle of the street in front of the Hickory House. Curley was attempting to push the vehicle by herself, he said, so he stopped to help.
He said he quickly realized that Curley had slurred speech and smelled strongly of alcohol, then noticed the child between the ages of 10 and 14 in the car. At that point, Fain called a uniformed officer to handle the situation, he said.
“I can tell you, from my contact with her, I felt like she was pretty intoxicated,” Fain said.
Curley later failed roadside sobriety tests and was arrested, taken to the Pitkin County Jail, where she was booked and released, according to Fain and documents filed in Pitkin County Court. Police transported the child home to his father, he said.
Curley, who lives nearby on Eighth Street, had been on her way to Hickory House for dinner, Fain said.
Curley declined to comment on the arrest Friday.
