A Davenport police officer was injured in a crash early Monday, and a Rock Island woman is now facing charges in connection with the incident.
Loniecka Hodge, a 37-year-old individual, has been incarcerated in the Scott County Jail on two charges. These charges include serious injury by vehicle, which is classified as a Class D felony, and operating a vehicle while under the influence, which is considered a serious misdemeanor.
According to court records, she was able to post a bail amount of $6,600 and was subsequently released from jail. It has been scheduled for Hodge to have a preliminary hearing on September 6.
The arrest affidavit provides the following information:
An SUV and a Davenport Police Department Tahoe collided at the intersection of West 3rd and Gaines streets at 12:20 a.m. on Tuesday. An officer promptly responded to the scene of the crash.
The officer discovered that another officer had been transported to a nearby hospital due to a facial injury and a possible concussion.
The hospital also admitted a passenger who was in the SUV.
The officer who responded to the scene concluded that the SUV was traveling northbound on Gaines Street from Centennial Bridge. However, the driver of the SUV failed to navigate a curve in the road and ended up colliding with a raised median.
The SUV veered into the opposite lane and collided with the police squad car’s front passenger side at the intersection of 3rd and Gaines streets. The impact was so intense that it caused the squad car to spin 90 degrees.
The responding officer engaged in conversation with Hodge, the driver of the SUV, and detected a distinct aroma of alcohol emanating from her person and breath.
The officer observed that she had bloodshot eyes, her speech was slurred and repetitive, and she had difficulty maintaining her balance.
Hodge confessed to the officer that she had consumed alcohol earlier while she was at the club.
Hodge initially declined to perform field sobriety tests, but later agreed to do the walk-and-turn and standing-on-one-leg tests. The results of these tests indicated impairment in both cases.
According to the affidavit, she was arrested after refusing to provide a breath sample.