California drunk driver nabbed after hitting drunk driving sign

A drunk driver in California smashed into a sign warning that police were on the hunt for anyone driving under the influence—and was promptly arrested.

Clarissa Hernandez had drunk a pint (half a liter) of tequila before she ploughed into the electronic signboard in Palm Springs in August, according to police.

Officers manning the DUI checkpoint a few steps away rushed over to the mangled Land Rover as Hernandez staggered free.

"Her eyes were bloodshot, red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She swayed forward and back continuously," a Palm Springs Police Department officer identified as J. Valdiva wrote in a report.

"She was angry, argumentative, and hostile," the officer wrote, adding that when questioned Hernandez said she had polished off her tequila just 10 minutes before the crash.

Hernandez, 27, who is from Texas, admitted one misdemeanor count each of willfully resisting, and driving under the influence of alcohol when she appeared in court last week.

She was sentenced to three years' probation, Riverside County District Attorney's office said.

Police in California frequently set up checkpoints in an effort to catch unlicensed, uninsured, or impaired drivers.

But—according to state laws—they have to warn motorists of the presence of the checkpoint, which they sometimes do with electronic signboards. (AFP)