Stanislaus Supervisor Kristin Olsen Apologizes After DUI Arrest On Interstate 80
SACRAMENTO COUNTY (CBS13) — A Stanislaus County supervisor and former California Assembly minority leader was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The California Highway Patrol says an unmarked Sacramento County Sheriff's vehicle spotted Kristin Olsen driving erratically with her headlights off on Interstate 80 on Wednesday night.
Staring glassy-eyed into the camera, her eye glasses atop her head, Olsen's mug shot — is in stark contrast to the photo on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors county website showing her beaming.
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The CHP reports Sacramento County Sheriff deputies initially pulled Olsen over along a section of eastbound Interstate 80 at Greenback Lane. The CHP performed a breathylizer and field sobriety test and arrested her based on the results.
Hours before the arrest, she posted a picture on Facebook explaining that she had car trouble and needed a tow. Her attorney says the car she was driving when arrested was a rental.
No one answered her Riverbank home door.
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Olsen texted a statement reading:
"I regret having made this inadvertent, careless mistake. As you can imagine, I'm embarrassed and horrified. I apologize to my family and constituents for this incident. It was a hard lesson to learn."
"There is no excuse," Mothers Against Drunk Driving Northern California Executive Director Natasha Thomas said.
Thomas said lawmakers in particular should know better.
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"There are laws that they have passed to make sure that the public stays safe," Thomas said.
Before serving as a supervisor, Olsen served as the California Republican Assembly minority leader, where she voted to extend an option making some drivers convicted of DUI eligible for an ignition interlock device, in place of a suspended license.
It's a program she may now be eligible for herself, if she is convicted.
Olsen made controversial headlines in the recent past.
Her estranged husband was charged with misdemeanor assault for putting his hands on a child at a youth baseball game. That charge was dropped in a plea deal.
He also requested a California Assembly ethics investigation into whether Olsen was using taxpayer dollars concealing an alleged affair with another lawmaker.
Now this arrest for suspicion of DUI, shining another harsh spotlight on Kristin Olsen, the county supervisor now heading to court. Her attorney says he expects her to be found innocent.
Her first court date is set for mid-October.