Woman gets prison for 8th DUI (The judge told Swatek, “You’re just plain dangerous)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100407/NEWS97/704079846#woman-gets-prison-for-8th-dui

Published Wednesday April 7, 2010

LINCOLN (AP) - A 30-year-old Lincoln woman has been given 9 years and 8 months to 16 years in prison after her eighth drunken-driving conviction.

Judge Jodi Nelson of Lancaster County District Court on Tuesday sentenced Heather Swatek for the DUI and for driving while her license was suspended.

The judge told Swatek, “You’re just plain dangerous. The fact that you will get behind the wheel ... and put the public at risk is something I cannot ignore.”

Police say a 13-year-old relative was with Swatek when she was arrested last July. Swatek’s blood-alcohol level tested at more than twice the legal limit to drive.

Court records show Swatek’s first DUI arrest came in 1999, seven months before she turned 21.