A local first-year teacher was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a previous conviction after the passenger wheel came off her vehicle when she was leaving a Columbus liquor store.
Mary Barbara Ream, 56, 16142 E. County Road 735N, Hope, was released from the Bartholomew County Jail after posting $7,500 bond, jail officials said. Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.’s website lists Ream as a math teacher at Columbus Signature Academy – New Tech High School in Columbus.
Larry Perkinson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee and student assistance coordinator, released a statement Monday that Ream was suspended immediately upon confirmation of the failed sobriety tests. The administration plans to recommend non-renewal of her teaching contract, Perkinson said.
Columbus police officers were sent to the area of 25th Street and Taylor Road about a possible intoxicated driver at about 8 p.m. Saturday, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police spokesman.
Officer Lucas Nibarger found a gray Lexus SUV in the roadway that was missing a passenger wheel, Harris said.
When Nibarger spoke with the driver, identified as Ream, he smelled a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, Harris said. Ream failed numerous field sobriety tests and provided a portable breath sample of .219 percent, more than double the legal limit for drinking and driving, police reported.
A half-empty bottle of whiskey and an unopened beer were located in Ream’s purse, Harris said.
Ream was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood sample before being taken to the jail, Harris said.
Court records show Ream entered into a plea agreement in April 2013, agreeing to plead guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated regarding a charge that was filed in Bartholomew County on Feb. 12, 2013, court records show.
A second charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated-endangerment was dismissed as part of the plea bargain, according to court records. As a result of the plea agreement, Ream received a 90-day license suspension and six months probation, as well as paying court and probation fees, court records show.
Efforts to reach Ream were unsuccessful.
