High Springs woman arrested for DUI after allegedly driving wrong way on I-75

Staff report

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – Karen Renee Pickens, 38, was arrested early this morning and charged with driving under the influence after allegedly driving the wrong way on I-75.

At about 1:30 a.m. this morning, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper responded to a call about a reckless driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-75. FHP then received a call about a person walking in the southbound lanes of the interstate.

When the trooper arrived in the area, he found a juvenile male walking on the interstate. The boy reportedly said he had been in a car with a woman who was drinking and driving the wrong way on the interstate, so he got her to pull over and jumped out of the car. He said she drove away and left him in the middle of the interstate.

A Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over the car on Old Bellamy Road, so the trooper turned the juvenile over to another trooper and drove to Old Bellamy Road.

The deputy said he had seen the car run off the road and nearly crash before he pulled it over and that he had identified the driver, Pickens, by her Georgia driver’s license.

The trooper noticed a strong smell of alcohol and noted signs of impairment. He asked her if she’d had anything to drink, and she reportedly said, “Some brandy.”

Pickens reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety exercises, and the trooper arrested her. A bottle of brandy was found during the inventory of her car.

Pickens’ breath samples measured at .196 and .198 g/210L, more than twice the legal limit.

The trooper asked Pickens why she had not gotten a Florida driver’s license after moving to High Springs, and she reportedly said she had not had time.

Pickens has been charged with reckless driving, DUI with a person under 18 in the vehicle, and not obtaining a Florida driver’s license after establishing residency. Pickens has no local criminal history but received a traffic citation in March 2023.

Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

  • Sometimes people not only take the wrong paths in their lives, they may take the wrong direction on the highways traveled. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to cross her path before she maimed or killed someone.

  • Nothing about her sounds valid.
    Did she have registration and proof of insurance? Was the tag on the vehicle current? Hopefully, a background check on her is being done completely.
    I’m betting she has warrants that are active in Georgia.

    • And brings u to this conclusion??? Don’t you think she wouldve been charged with all those things that you betting on??? Why would she have active warrants if she doesn’t even have a criminal history to begin with????

  • Hopefully cars of the future will have A.I. sensors and prevent people like her from getting in the drivers seat.

    • Remember when the government made a regulation that the seat belt had to be fastened before the car would start? For our own good, of course. That lasted what, two years before our ‘public servants’ listened to We the People? Similar rule. Sounds good, but watch the unintended consequences.

  • I don’t care how drunk you are, you know not to drive the wrong way on I-75 with cars coming at you at 80 MPH. This woman needs to be criminally charged, but she should also be held on a Baker Act because she is obviously suicidal. She is a danger to both herself and those around her.

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