By Jeff Rivenbark - email
TAYLORSVILLE, NC (WBTV) - A Florida woman is in jail facing drug and DWI charges after nearly hitting a school bus in Alexander County last week. Her passenger is also facing similar charges.
The incident happened Wednesday, March 16, at 2:48 p.m. on Pine Cove Road in Taylorsville.
According to the Alexander County Sheriff's Office, 27-year-old Trista Ann Nickels, of Zephyrhills, Florida, was driving a Ford F150 truck which nearly hit a school bus head on.
Someone called the sheriff's office and reported they thought the driver was possibly impaired. When deputies arrived, they stopped the vehicle on Pine Cove Road.
Dorothy Hofmann, 46, of Morganton, was a passenger in the truck as well as a 2-year-old who was sitting in a car seat.
While one deputy checked Nickels for impairment, another deputy inspected the child restraint seat because it was not properly installed.
During the inspection, the sheriff's office says two large bottles fell out of the seat that were concealed. The bottles contained 83 Dilaudid pills and 27 Xanax pills.
The Department of Social Services was called to the scene to assist with placement of the toddler.
Nickels was arrested at the scene for driving while impaired. Both women were charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.
While at the sheriff's office, fingerprints were obtained for Nickels and that's when deputies discovered her name is actually Kalie Leann Nickels. They also learned that Nickels was wanted by the US Marshal's Office out of Florida for indictments for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamines.
The sheriff's office said Nickels is known to travel up and down the east coast trafficking in controlled substances. She is currently being held in the Caldwell County jail.
Nickels is being held without bond and Hofman received a $5,000 bond. Since the Alexander County jail does not house female inmates, both women are being held in the jail in Caldwell County.
The sheriff's office says charges are pending against Nickels' boyfriend.
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