Alachua Woman Faces Multiple Charges After DUI Arrest, High-Speed Chase

ALACHUA ‒ A 46-year-old woman from Alachua, identified as Dawn Marie Burkhardt, was arrested on Wednesday following a high-speed chase with law enforcement and a series of charges, including driving under the influence (DUI) and battery on an officer.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2024, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper responded to a call about a vehicle stopped in the roadway at Peggy Road and Northwest 202^nd Street. The caller said the driver did not want help and refused to move the vehicle out of the roadway.

The trooper reported that when he approached the Lincoln SUV, the driver, later identified as Dawn Marie Burkhardt, seemed to be looking at her cell phone. In response to questions from the trooper, she reportedly told him the vehicle was not disabled and would not explain why she was stopped in the roadway.

The trooper reported that he explained that she needed to pull off the road as other vehicles were trying to navigate around her stopped vehicle. He reported that he smelled alcohol. When he asked the driver for her identification, she reportedly said she was the registered owner of the vehicle but made no attempt to produce a driver’s license. The trooper reported that she did not answer a question about whether there was alcohol in the vehicle.

The trooper said he asked the driver to step out of the vehicle. In response, she allegedly rolled the window up and drove away. The trooper reported that he pursued the vehicle along Peggy Road at speeds above the speed limit until the vehicle stopped on the shoulder of Northwest 234^th Street. The trooper reportedly got out of his vehicle, drew his firearm and initiated a felony stop on the vehicle. He reported that after he ordered her to get out of the vehicle for several minutes, she allegedly drove away. She again exceeded the speed limit along Northwest 234^th Street.

The trooper reportedly pursued the vehicle again, and the woman drove onto the shoulder, apparently intending to make a U-turn. The trooper placed his vehicle in front of the SUV and reported that the woman tried to put her vehicle in reverse, but was unsuccessful in moving it from the shoulder.

The trooper again drew his firearm and initiated a felony stop and reported that the woman refused to get out of her vehicle. He reportedly opened the driver’s side door and told her to get out. She allegedly punched him several times, then kicked him and continued to fight his attempts to get her out of the car. The trooper reported that he “conducted a takedown” and placed her on the ground, where she allegedly continued to resist by tensing up until a “good Samaritan” assisted the trooper in handcuffing her.

A search of her vehicle reportedly produced multiple cans of White Claw Hard Seltzer, a cold open container of White Claw Hard Seltzer within reach of the driver and multiple bottles of prescription narcotics.

When the trooper again asked the driver to identify herself, she reportedly told him to “go f*** [him]self.” The driver was later identified by the driver’s license found in her wallet.

The trooper requested an ambulance as a precaution, but Burkhardt reportedly refused treatment from paramedics. The paramedics, however, were reportedly concerned about her state of impairment and transported her to a hospital for medical clearance.

Post Miranda at the hospital, Burkhardt reportedly declined to answer questions and refused to consent to blood, breath or urine tests.

The deputy reported that Burkhardt continued to “violently scream” at him while he was interviewing her at the hospital.

Burkhardt has been charged with fleeing with lights and sirens active, battery on an officer, resisting an officer with violence, DUI with two previous DUI convictions, DUI with damage to property, refusal to submit to DUI testing and providing false identification information to an officer. She has two previous DUI convictions, in 2003 and 2008.

Bail was set by Judge Kristine Van Vorst at $130,000. In addition, when she is released, she must observe a curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and be fitted with a transdermal alcohol device. Burkhardt’s attorney has already requested a reduced bond, arguing that she is not a flight risk and has lived in the same home for over 30 years.

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