A former University of New Hampshire police officer pleaded guilty Friday to driving impaired in a single-car crash in Canterbury last month.

Diana Scott, 50, of Canterbury – who was hired May 2 as a job coach with the Shaker Regional School District – faced a misdemeanor DUI charge in connection with the June 6 crash on Baptist Road.

Scott was under the influence of alcohol and told police she had taken lorazepam, which is used to treat anxiety, the night before the incident, prosecutor John Gasaway said in an interview after the hearing. Gasaway, a hearings examiner with the state’s Department of Safety, said an officer had smelled alcohol on Scott’s breath at the crash scene, but that she’d refused a breathalyzer test.

Scott crashed a 1999 Acura into a ditch a short distance from her Baptist Road home, according to court records. The crash was reported about 8:45 a.m.

State police arrested Scott in Canterbury that morning; however, the DUI charge against her was not filed in court until Friday, just before her arraignment. The hearing was scheduled for 8 a.m., but it was not on the day’s court docket.

Scott appeared before Judge Edward Gordon without an attorney.

The DUI conviction is her first. Gordon said Scott has a clean record except for a couple of other crashes.

Scott received a nine-month license revocation, with all but 90 days suspended. She was also fined $500, plus a $120 penalty assessment; referred to the Impaired Driver Care Management Program; and ordered to complete a drug and alcohol screening.

Scott’s last day as a UNH employee was May 1, according to university officials.

Before working there, she was contracted with the U.S. Marshals Service and was employed as a police officer in Bow.

Additionally, Scott’s husband, Christopher Scott, has appeared on legislative salary reports as a congressional staffer for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen as recently as March 31. His title is listed as the special assistant for policy and projects.

(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)