A Laconia woman accused of crashing into a motorcyclist and running into the road to evade police faces charges of driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, authorities said.
Police said Stacey Converse, 47, was driving a 2013 Hyundai sedan about 9 p.m. Saturday on Route 106 in Belmont when she hit a Harley-Davidson motorcycle turning into Penguin Mart, police said. Witnesses reported that Converse failed to yield right of way.
After hitting the motorcycle, Converse left its driver lying on the ground and walked into the Penguin Mart, where she was acting erratically and her breath smelled of alcohol, a sales clerk reported.
When police arrived, Converse underwent a series of sobriety tests in the store parking lot before suddenly walking away from police and heading into Route 106, Lt. Richard Mann said.
“She walked directly onto the highway into traffic,” Mann said. “It was quite a problem.”
Converse ignored officers’ requests for her to return to the parking lot, Mann said, and when police attempted to apprehend her, a female family member of Converse’s who had arrived on scene attempted to wrestle her away from them.
A Belmont officer sustained road rash on his legs from the tussle with the two females, Mann said.
Converse’s court date is set for 8:15 a.m May 10.
The family member who interfered with police is known to officers and a warrant for her arrest is being pursued, Mann said.
“You don’t like to see your family members in a negative light, and emotions were high,” Mann said. “You can’t try to interfere, though.”
The motorcycle operator was transported to Lakes Region General Hospital for a possible head and neck injury and minor wounds from hitting the passenger side of Converse’s car and then striking the ground, Mann said. He has since been released from the hospital, according to reports.
(Leah Willingham can be reached at 369-3322, lwillingham@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @LeahMWillingham.)