By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the Union Sq. area last Sunday on reports of a woman behind the wheel in the middle of the road.

Upon arrival, the officers spotted an SUV stopped in the middle of Union Sq. in the travel lane. The vehicle was running and the woman inside was unresponsive, but the officers could tell she was breathing due to her chest rise.

An officer was able to reach inside the vehicle and turn it off, and they then began trying to wake to woman, who was later identified as Jerrica Ruiz-Cribbs.

EMS was called due to her condition, and the officers were eventually able to wake her up.

Ruiz-Cribbs was reportedly incoherent and could not produce words, just mumbles. Earlier when an officer reached inside the vehicle, he noticed an empty 200ml bottle of Hennessy on the backseat floor.

Once EMS arrived, Ruiz-Cribbs was alert and able to speak. The officers told her how she was found and she reportedly stated that it was not true.

The officers suggested that she should be checked out due to the condition she was found in, but she refused. They asked if she had any illness or disease that would cause her to become unresponsive and she stated that she, “Maybe had too much to drink.”

Ruiz-Cribbs also reportedly said she did the right thing by pulling over to the side. The officers then explained to her that she was in the middle of a travel lane.

Ruiz-Cribbs was asked if she would be willing to take a field sobriety test. She ignored this and said that they were being mean. They asked again if she would take a field sobriety test and she again ignored them, began to cry and told them they were being mean.

The officers asked a third time if she would take a field sobriety test, and this time she answered and said she could not because she would fail.

Police allowed Ruiz-Cribbs to make a phone call so someone could take possession of her vehicle instead of it being towed. Her boyfriend agreed and arrived later to retrieve the vehicle.

At this time the police told Ruiz-Cribbs that they were  placing her under arrest for operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor and having an open container of alcohol. She was placed into handcuffs without incident and transported to the station by the mobile detention unit.

During the booking process, Ruiz-Cribbs reportedly told the booking officer that she could not do the breathalyzer test because she knew that she would fail. The booking officer also said they could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from Ruiz-Cribbs.