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Woman Who Said She Was Nurse Accused Of Driving Drunk On 3 Tires On I-80/94

GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- Sherry Sanchez said she is a nurse and was driving to work in Gary this week, but she ended up in jail instead.

It's all because of what's missing from her sport-utility vehicle.

As CBS2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported, the traffic stop happened right off the Broadway exit on the Borman Expressway (I-80/94) on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said not only did Sanchez, 46, have a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit, but somehow, she was driving with only three wheels.

Sherry Sanchez's Vehicle
Sherry Sanchez, 46, is charged with driving drunk on three wheels on I-80/94 in Gary. (Credit: Indiana State Police)

When Sanchez, of Portage, failed to move over for an emergency vehicle along the side of the highway, an Indiana State trooper pulled her over.

The trooper said Sanchez was swerving and almost hit the curb more than once.

The trooper said she then told him she didn't know what was wrong with her car, "but all the lights on her dash were going off."

The issue was that she was putting her petal to the metal as her right front rim gouged the payment.

Sanchez was wearing scrubs at the time. She told the trooper she was a home health care nurse and was on her way to a patient in Chicago.

Sherry Sanchez
Sherry Sanchez, 46, is charged with driving drunk on three wheels on I-80/94 in Gary. (Credit: Indiana State Police)

A test showed she was drunk, and she was charged with operating while intoxicated, violating the Move Over Law, and operating on a highway with a non-compliant vehicle.

What's worse, Porter County, Indiana court records show this was not Sanchez's first drunk driving charge. Sanchez was pulled over in 2005 with a blood alcohol greater than .15, and also with leaving the scene of an accident. She was sentenced to probation.

At last check, Sanchez was in the Lake County Jail in Crown Point. She appears to have had a valid driver's license at the time of her arrest.

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