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Shively mayor charged with DUI after crash at White Castle parking lot

Witnesses said Beverly Chester-Burton was asleep in the drive-thru line before hitting a car and crashing into a pole.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The mayor of Shively was arrested and accused of driving under the influence after crashing her car into a pole late Tuesday night.

According to her arrest citation, Beverly Chester-Burton crashed her car into a pole in a White Castle parking lot at around 11 p.m. When police arrived, Chester-Burton said she lost control of her car while trying to leave the parking lot, hitting a telephone pole.

Witnesses, however, told officers she had been asleep in the drive-thru line and multiple people tried to knock on her window to wake her up. They said Chester-Burton hit the car in front of her, which in turn hit another car, before leaving the line and hitting a pole.

After officers smelled alcohol on her breath, Chester-Burton said she had two martinis with dinner at around 5 p.m. Later, police said she changed her story to having dinner at 9 p.m., unaware of the current time. Officers conducted a field sobriety test, where they said she failed to follow multiple instructions.

Police charged Chester-Burton with operating a motor vehicle under the influence. The citation does not mention the mayor's blood alcohol level.

Chester-Burton has no previous arrests. She was elected Shively's first African-American mayor in 2018.

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