Infamous ‘CR-V Lady’ Loses License, Still Driving (Terribly) Around Topeka
Mere laws can’t keep the state’s worst driver off the road.
Last month, we brought you the saga of the so-called "CR-V Lady" in Topeka, Kansas, whose god-awful driving was so notorious around the region that citizens actually formed Facebook groups to stay on top of her whereabouts and warn each other. At the time, it appeared that state officials were moving towards suspending her license amid pending reckless driving charges, and now it appears they've successfully pulled it—but that hasn't stopped Patricia McDonald from getting behind the wheel and continuing her reign of terror, according to the latest report by KSNT News.
When we last left this strange tale, McDonald appeared to be on thin ice after years of causing mayhem on area roads in her blue Honda CR-V. Speeding in school zones, stopping in the middle of the road, fleeing minor fender-benders, failing basic merges, and racking up tickets were just a few of her special talents, and her misadventures were extensively chronicled on the CRV Lady Awareness of Topeka and Police Scanner Group of Topeka Facebook pages before local media picked up the story earlier this year.
Once that happened, city officials began looking at ways to get her license revoked for a nice, long time. In Kansas, being found guilty of three major driving violations in a year will get your license pulled for three years. She's currently awaiting a hearing on June 1 related to two violations from recent months—reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident—and prosecutors scheduled another hearing for May 24 to cancel a diversion she received for a third incident last year.
McDonald emerged from last month's hearing with a valid license, but last week KSNT News confirmed that it had finally been suspended. Yet video from Saturday shows her wheeling into a gas station, pulling the wrong way into the pumps, and arguing with an attendant after trying to pay using a check without ID. Police were eventually called, and McDonald stormed off with a signature illegal u-turn on the way out. By the time the officer got in his cruiser to pursue, she had disappeared into the flow of traffic.
Yesterday, police were called to an area business over an "unwanted person report" and again found McDonald and her CR-V. This time, officers cited her, confiscated her physical driver's license, and gave her car keys to a "third party," leaving the infamous blue Honda safely parked.
The story is funny, no doubt, but we're also concerned for both McDonald's safety and the safety of area drivers in general. Should she get ahold of another car with the CR-V out of commission, she'll be basically incognito and all the more dangerous for it. Her behavior appears to be getting more erratic with time, and we hope there's nothing serious underlying her actions beyond a bad attitude and worse driving. Citizens of Topeka, you can rest easy now ... but for how long?
