Passed-Out Driver Suspected Of Being On Drugs: Sheriff's Office

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — An 18-year-old Rohnert Park woman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs and possession of an unregistered handgun after deputies reportedly found her passed out in the driver's seat of her car, with her car partially parked on a roadway, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said a deputy initially responded to a report of a suspicious car that had been parked for several hours in the 6500 block of Petaluma Hill Road in unincorporated Santa Rosa.

The deputy arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to find the driver, later identified as Carrie Cordova-Dalson, inside her white Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Crum said.

The car's engine was not running but the car was in drive and was parked partially over the edge of the white line, blocking traffic, the sergeant said.

"The deputy called for an ambulance thinking it was a medical emergency when he was unable to wake her," Crum said.

While trying to find the young woman's identification the deputy looked in her purse, where he saw a replica pistol, the sergeant said.

After another deputy arrived and helped wake Cordova-Dalson up and get her out of the car, they determined she was "heavily under the influence of drugs," Crum said.

Cordova-Dalson reportedly told the deputies the reason she'd parked that way was "because she ran out of gas," the sergeant said.

Deputies proceeded to search her car and found a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun under the front seat, according to Crum.

Cordova-Dalson was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of unlawful possession of an unregistered concealed weapon in a vehicle and being under the influence of a controlled substance, the sergeant said.

According to Crum, her bail was set at $30,000.

Jail records Friday indicated she has since been released from custody.