Police: Driver in Crash Says She Had 'Fish Bowl' Sized Glass of Wine

A Queens woman told a trooper she had a "fish bowl" sized glass of wine before she fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed her car on the Northern State Parkway in Melville Sunday afternoon, State Police said.

A trooper responding to a report of a one-car crash on the eastbound side of the Northern State near Route 110 shortly after 3 p.m. found Catherine Loftus, 51, asleep at the wheel.

Loftus' Nissan Altima had struck a cement barrier on the right shoulder and become disabled in the traffic lanes, police said.

The trooper noticed a "strong odor" of alcohol on Loftus' breath and the driver also had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, police said. 

Loftus told the trooper that she had just one glass of wine before driving, but that it was the size of "a fish bowl," police said.

Loftus failed sobriety tests--with a blood alcohol content of .18, more than twice the legal limit--and was arrested for driving while intoxicated and traffic violations. 

Loftus faces a felony DWI charge as she has a prior DWI conviction in the last 10 years, police said.

Loftus was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in First District Court in Central Islip.