Canyon County Prosecutor: Woman "had no regard for the laws …"

Arlene Schmidt, 62, of Middleton, was sentenced this week in Canyon County for felony aggravated DUI, after it was found she caused a head-on collision.

Schmidt was sentenced to three years fixed, followed by eight years indeterminate, for a total unified sentence of eleven years. Judge Thomas Whitney also ordered Schmidt’s driver’s license to be suspended for a period of five years following her release from prison. Schmidt was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine along with court costs.  

Schmidt was arrested in October of last year, after causing a crash that left two people with significant injuries. According to police, Schmidt was traveling on Highway 44 in Middleton when she abruptly turned in front of a truck, causing a head-on collision.  

“Both the driver of the truck and his ten-year-old daughter sustained injuries that required hospital treatment as a result of the crash. The driver suffered a broken nose and facial lacerations, while his daughter suffered a broken jaw,” said Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker.

“When officers arrived on the scene, they noticed Schmidt showed signs of alcohol impairment, such as slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. A subsequent breathalyzer test showed that her blood alcohol level was .200, more than twice the legal limit,” Decker added.

At the time of the crash, Schmidt was on probation for a 2016 DUI conviction and, as a condition of her probation, she should have been driving a vehicle equipped with an interlock device.  

“Ms. Schmidt showed she has no regard for the laws of this state by skirting her probation and driving drunk in a car that she had no business being behind the wheel of, then crashing the car into an innocent family,” said Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor. “This was a serious crime that deserves severe punishment. I’m thankful she is headed to prison for the protection of society.”