Details of the Miss USA 2010 DUI incident

In our last post we discussed the drunk driving arrest of Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih and the concept of holding those who serve visibly intoxicated drivers responsible for any injuries that those drivers cause. Holding a bar or party host responsible for the drunk driving car accidents of guests is often called a “dram shop” case. Ironically no dram shop issues are likely to arise out of the Miss USA drunk driving incident because police say that the beauty queen brought the bar with her.

A police officer claims to have seen the beauty queen weaving through traffic while speeding in a black Jaguar. The officer stopped the car because of the driver’s erratic behavior and failure to signal. Once stopped, Rima Fakih allegedly immediately identified herself as “Miss USA” and appeared disoriented. She claimed not have been drinking that evening but a search of her car revealed a half-empty open bottle of champagne underneath the driver’s seat.

The officer hauled the beauty queen to a police station cell to sober up. Fortunately she was unable to run into anymore before she was arrested. Also, despite her protests that she had not been drinking, a blood alcohol test revealed that Fakih had a blood alcohol level that was more than double the legal limit. She has been charged with drunk driving, careless driving and possession of an open alcohol container.

The Miss USA 2010 winner was the first Arab-American winner of the title. She was most recently a contestant on the show “WWE Tough Enough.”

Source: Associated Press, “Police: Ex-Miss USA Rima Fakih speeding, weaving in traffic with half-empty bottle of champagne in vehicle,” David N. Goodman & Jeff Karoub, Dec. 7, 2011