Asked by Police Officer to take 9 Steps, Intoxicated Woman takes 57

An Athens Clarke County Police officer was giving a young woman field tests to determine if she were intoxicated early Friday morning.In his report, he said he asked her to take a certain number of steps, turning and stopping.

The officer then asked Amanda Paige Cassell, 21, how many steps he had asked her to take. "Nine," she said. How many did she actually take? "Twelve, well over twelve," she replied.

The officer noted that the young woman had really taken 57 steps. A breathalizer test the officer administered showed her blood alcohol level was .245, more than 12 times the legal limit for someone under 24 years old.

The process that led to Cassell's arrest on charges of DUI, a suspended license and driving without headlights began about 3:20am, when the officer saw a silver Honda heading west on Broad Street without its lights on. It stopped in the middle of the Lumpkin Street intersection then turned and ended up in a lot behind the Holiday Inn.

After field testing positive for intoxication, she was arrested and taken to the Clarke County Jail.