An accused drunk driver who allegedly blew a .26 on a breathalyzer told authorities she had been drinking vanilla extract before her arrest.
Carolyn Kesel, 46, of Seneca Falls, New York, was arrested Jan. 5 after she was seen allegedly driving erratically around a Walmart parking lot in Mecedon, according to the New York Daily News.
Kesel allegedly told police she drank two hand-sized bottles of pure vanilla extract in Lyons, became lost and could not find her way out of the Walmart parking lot.
Her blood alcohol level at the time of her arrest was .26, three times the legal limit.
The alcohol level on the vanilla extract was listed at 41 percent, which is similar to the alcohol content found in vodka or gin, ABC7.com reports.
Chris Thomas, a drug counselor with the Wayne County Mental Health Department, says drinking pure vanilla extract is like drinking cough medicine.
“It smells like a vanilla drink (vanilla Coke, or Pepsi) and no one would know the difference," Thomas told the Wayne Times.
The paper points out that pure peppermint extract contains 89 percent alcohol while pure lemon extract is 83 percent alcohol. Imitation extracts can have as much as 17 percent alcohol.
Kesel was charged with Felony DWI and Felony Aggravated DWI. She was remanded to the Wayne County Jail on $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, Syracuse.com reports.
The suspect was previously convicted of DWI in 2006.
