Police: Rehoboth teen drives into retention pond, faces DUI

A Rehoboth Beach teen faces several traffic charges after driving into a retention pond Nov. 17 while under the influence.

A trooper on patrol on Route 1 near Route 24 at 3:55 a.m. spotted a black Volkswagen Jetta speeding southbound on Route 1; it continued at a high rate of speed after the trooper initiated a traffic stop.

Police said the driver of the Jetta, Charlotte Dane, 18, tried to make a hard right turn from Old Landing Road to Fairway Drive before exiting the roadway and crashing into a retention pond. Dane was able to get out and swim to shore.  

She was not injured and there were no other occupants in the vehicle, police said. Dane was taken to Troop 7, where the trooper observed multiple signs of impairment and conducted field sobriety tests. She was charged with felony disregarding a police officer’s signal, reckless driving, driving by person under 21 after consumption of alcohol, failure to have lights on when required, four counts of failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to signal, speeding and three counts of driving at an unreasonable speed.

She was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 3, and released on her own recognizance.