PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A Port Richey councilmember was arrested on a drunk driving charge on Aug. 22 stemming from a crash in April, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.
Councilmember Lisa Burke, 63, surrendered on Aug. 22 to troopers at the Pasco County Jail just before 7 p.m. and was arrested and charged with DUI property damage.
WATCH: Port Richey councilmember charged with DUI from April crash: FHP
According to an FHP report, a trooper responded to the Bay Care Morton Plant Hospital on April 24 and talked with Burke, who was lying on a gurney.
When the trooper asked if she had been in a single-car crash, she confirmed that she had been. When the trooper had asked what had happened, Burke said she could not remember.
The trooper said that she had exhibited impairment such as “slurred speech,” bloodshot watery eyes,” disoriented and had a strong odor of alcohol from her breath when she spoke.
Burke had suffered injuries to her sternum and face and other internal injuries, which were consistent or a motor vehicle crash, the report stated.
The trooper then informed Burke that he was beginning a criminal investigation for DUI.
Burke told the trooper that she had left the “Crab Shack and Bar” and was heading home. When she was asked if she had been drinking, she told the trooper she “drank four beers.”
Due to her injuries, she could not perform the field sobriety exercises, the report stated. However, she agreed to provide blood samples.
On Aug 19, she was advised by FHP that she was going to be charged with DUI and property damage. Burke was elected to the council in 2024.
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