Woman charged with vehicular homicide arrested for OWI

A Polk County judge in December warned Deanna Marie Gliem that she could not drive while she was waiting to stand trial on charges of vehicular homicide for driving while intoxicated when she allegedly struck and killed two men in their vehicle.

On June 10, the Des Moines woman was stopped by a Lucas County sheriff’s deputy, who saw Gliem, 53, driving erratically, speeding and nearly hitting a pedestrian, papers filed in Polk County Court show. A preliminary breath test showed that Gliem had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.112 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Now, Polk County prosecutors want a judge to revoke Gliem’s $250,000 surety bond and hold her in jail until her Sept. 12 trial. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Monday.

The charges Gliem faces in Polk County relate to the November traffic deaths of lifelong friends Richard Hummel, 60, and Randall Sonnenburg, 59.

Daughters of Hummel and Sonnenburg expressed outrage that Gliem was supposedly driving last week while impaired.

“I’m mad as hell,” said Misty Martin, Hummel’s daughter.  “I was disgusted (Gliem) made bond and got out. She took advantage of that and was again behind the wheel, driving impaired. She could have hurt someone else — or worse.

“The fact that they let her out again … eats me up.”

Becky Sonnenburg, daughter of Randall Sonnenburg, said: “People deserve second chances, but she doesn’t want to admit her mistakes or change her ways.”

Martin and Becky Sonnenburg said they contacted Polk County prosecutors Thursday and voiced their frustration that Gliem was again charged with driving while intoxicated. Both said they were upset that the charge wasn’t a third OWI.

Gliem was driving about 73 miles per hour in the 3700 block of Hubbell Avenue on Nov. 15 when her vehicle struck one driven by Hummel, court records show. The speed limit on that section of Hubbell is 35 miles per hour.

Gliem was charged with two counts each of vehicular homicide-operating under the influence and vehicular homicide-reckless driving. She faces a maximum sentence of 70 years if found guilty of the four charges.

The charge of vehicular homicide-operating under the influence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 17½ years.

A public defender representing Gliem was out of the office until Monday, a person who answered his phone said. A telephone number for Gliem was unavailable.

Gliem was arrested about 4:30 p.m. Friday in Chariton and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated-first and driving while suspended.

Law enforcement officers smelled alcohol on Gliem's breath and observed that she was “having difficulty maintaining her balance,” documents filed in Polk County Court state.

Officers also reported seeing a bottle of liquor and strawberry daiquiri mix in Gliem’s vehicle, which was registered to Matthew Clair Gliem, records show.

Gliem was released on a $1,000 bond, court records show.

Lucas County Sheriff Brett Tharp said Gliem was charged with OWI-first because she doesn’t have any drunken driving convictions.

“Until you’re convicted of an offense, the previous charges don’t count against you,” Tharp said.

He said his department informed the Polk County Attorney’s office of Gliem’s arrest.

“It’s obvious she hasn’t learned her lesson from her first arrest,” Tharp said. “She’s continued to drive while intoxicated and endangered other people’s lives.”

Polk County prosecutors, in a court document filed Thursday afternoon, asked a judge to revoke Gliem's bond because of the risk she poses to the public.

According to court documents, Gliem admitted in November to law enforcement officers that she had been drinking before the fatal crash. Police found two empty bottles of Jose Cuervo Gold in her vehicle, and she had been observed drinking a shot of Jose Cuervo at an Altoona restaurant minutes before the accident, according to documents.

Gliem’s blood alcohol concentration registered at 0.123 percent after the November crash, records show. In Iowa, the legal limit for intoxication is 0.08 percent.

Iowa’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau in May launched a statewide Impaired Driving Coalition in an effort to find ways to reduce impaired driving. The coalition's goal is to develop a statewide strategy to prevent and reduce impaired driving and increase public safety.

A recent Des Moines Register review of impaired-driving statistics found that impaired drivers in Iowa are more intoxicated and killing more people. In 2015, 123 people were killed in crashes caused by impaired drivers, up from 114 three years earlier.

At least 28 of Iowa’s 153 traffic fatalities this year are because of impaired driving, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. An official said the department is waiting on the results from 21 other crashes, which could push the number higher.

Becky Sonnenburg, who lives in Las Vegas, said she cringes now when she hears about crashes because of impaired driving.

“I’m hopeful that my father and uncle’s case shines a light on the dangers of drinking and driving and texting and driving,” she said. “I don’t want others to have to go to a grave