A South Dakota mother was arrested for her sixth DUI after driving under the influence with her two children, KDLT reported.
Police approached Nichole Kroger, 36, on New Year's Eve after an off-duty officer witnessed her drive on the sidewalk in Sioux Falls. An on-duty officer eventually stopped her car and arrested the mother of five.
Kroger faces several charges including drunken driving, having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, and child abuse. According to police, she had a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit and had her 8-year-old and 10-year-old children in her back seat.
She is currently jailed on $10,000 and the children are in her husband's care.
"That's the type of stuff that's out there all the time," said police Lt. Jerome Miller to KELO-TV. "Unfortunately that's the reason we are out there and appreciate those types of tips, whether they come from one of our own officers or another citizen - anything we can do to get those people off the road."
Her husband, Kevin Kroger, said his wife is an alcoholic who needs medical treatment, not punishment in jail.
"It had nothing to do with New Year's Eve or New Year's Day," he told The Argus Leader, adding his wife had been sober for four years prior to the recent incident. He called his wife "a model mother."
"My kids are doing great right now, and she's the reason why," he added.
Nichole Kroger's last DUI was issued in 2009. She was sentenced to five years in prison and served two before being paroled.
