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'I just remember my back burning, my stomach was burning.' | Louisville mother says Kentucky law doesn't take drunk driving seriously

Carmen Talbott thought she would never see her two daughters again after a drunk driver nearly killed her on New Year’s Day this year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Carmen Talbott nearly lost her life after a drunk driver struck her on New Year’s Day, which ranks among the deadliest days on our nation’s roads. 

She said she wants stricter penalties for those who drive under the influence.

Talbott, a 29-year-old Louisville mother, thought she would never see her two daughters again. 

“I just remember a loud booming sound," she said. “I just remember, like, my back burning, my stomach was burning."

Talbott said she remembers crawling out of her car, later passing out, and waking up in the hospital. 

“The doctors came in and they told me that I had ripped my intestines in half," she said.

Credit: Carmen Talbott
Talbott's car was totaled on New Years' Day 2022 when a drunk driver struck her.

A police report later showed the man who hit her had a blood alcohol level of 0.1, above the legal limit of 0.08.

“The person that hit me," Talbott said. "They were drunk driving."

She said the incident led to two major surgeries, financial hardship, anxiety and anger.

“I have to stop working," she said. "I have PTSD from cars now.”

Talbott said the driver's attorney said it was his first drunk driving charge. 

“He bonded out on just $500 and he was able to just walk home and go home," Talbott said. "You know, just for $500 that really upset me a lot." 

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She said drunk driving isn't taken seriously in Kentucky.

“There's too many loopholes that people can get through to get off," Talbott said. "You know, for that reason, they continue to do it."

According to data from the Administrative Office of the Courts and Jefferson County District Court between Jan. 1, 2017, and Feb. 21, 2022, of the 7,220 drunk driving cases in Jefferson County, 20 percent represent repeat offenses.

Talbott believes it’s largely because for those charged with drunk driving for the first time, penalties aren’t severe enough. 

In Kentucky, a first-time offense is considered a misdemeanor, a lower-level crime under the law involving smaller fines and temporary punishments. 

Drunk driving is not a more serious felony until the fourth offense.  

“The cost to the community is great," Stephanie Burke, a Jefferson District Court Judge, said.

Credit: Carmen Talbott
Talbott said she had to undergo two major surgeries, financial hardship, anxiety and anger due to a drunk driver.

Burke and Talbott both advocate for putting alcohol monitoring bracelets on people charged with driving while intoxicated more than once. The bracelets monitor blood alcohol levels in real-time, relaying that information back to the court system. 

"Prevention," Burke said. "Is paramount." 

“I think we have a need to have meaningful intervention early with individuals who are charged with these offenses so that they don't have repeat offenses," Burke said, adding that the cost of the bracelets is only $10 a day.

Talbott said to those who think about drinking under the influence, think about how those decisions can impact the lives of people around you.

“Don't keep risking killing someone over a drink," she said.

If you have something you’d like our FOCUS investigative team to look into, send us an email at focus@whas11.com

Contact reporter Paula Vasan at pvasan@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@PaulaVasan) and Facebook.

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