Arrest follows crash in Waupaca

Tanya J. Bastian, 43, Waupaca, was charged with a fourth drunken driving offense and operating while revoked.

On Jan. 2, dispatch advised Waupaca Police Officer Nicole Hahn of a one-vehicle crash on West Fulton Street near Hardee’s.

When Hahn arrived, she found a vehicle smashed into a power pole and a woman, identified as Bastian, who said she had fallen asleep while driving the vehicle.

Bastian denied drinking, but officers reported smelling alcohol on her breath after Bastian removed her mask.

According to the criminal complaint, Officer Matthew Batte attempted multiple times to administer a preliminary breath test.

“When he brought the PBT to her mouth, Tanya grabbed his hands, pulled the PBT to her mouth and inhaled,” the complaint says.

Batte then conducted field sobriety tests and observed clues indicating that Bastian was intoxicated.

Bastian was taken to the hospital for an evidentiary blood draw.

Results indicated that Bastian had a 0.2 blood-alcohol content.

Waupaca County initially charged Bastian with misdemeanor drunken driving on Feb. 9.

The district attorney’s office moved to dismiss the misdemeanor charge and refiled the case as a felony after Bastian was convicted of a second and third OWI.

On Oct. 6, Bastian was convicted for offenses committed on May 16, 2020, and Sept. 1, 2020. The court placed her on two years of probation, revoked her driver’s license for 33 months, sentenced her to 110 days in jail with release privileges and assessed her $3,306 in fines and court costs.

Bastian is scheduled for an initial court appearance on her felony OWI charge on Dec. 21.

She is currently in unsupervised custody with electronic monitoring.