Sherry Brendel

Name:
Brendel, Sherry Lyn

Date of Booking:
10/30/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
DUI – DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL – M

HIT AND RUN; DUTY OF DRIVER TO STOP AT OR RETURN TO SCENE OF ACCIDENT – M

Failure To Yield Right Of Way – M

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On October 30, 2025, Pooler Officers were dispatched to the area of Saint Joseph’s Candler Drive and Pooler Parkway, near Lowe’s, in reference to a hit-and-run accident that had just occurred.

The complainant, Ms. [VICTIM #1], reported that a black Hyundai Elantra bearing Georgia tag [REDACTED] struck her vehicle and fled the scene. Officers immediately began patrolling the area in an attempt to locate the suspect vehicle. A registration check revealed the vehicle was registered to Ms. Sherry Brendel at [20 BLOCK] Jazz Drive, Pooler.

At approximately 1909 hours, tag reader alerts indicated the suspect vehicle was traveling on Memorial Boulevard toward Harmony Boulevard. Officers responded to the Harmony subdivision, where Jazz Drive is located, to attempt contact with the registered owner.

Upon arrival at the residence, I, along with other officers, made contact with Ms. Brendel, who was wearing a black shirt and a bathrobe. When asked how long her vehicle had been home, she initially stated approximately an hour and a half. When confronted with the recent tag reader evidence, she changed her story and admitted she had been driving the vehicle earlier. I examined the vehicle and observed significant damage to the front left bumper, headlight, and grill.

When asked about the damage to her vehicle, Ms. Brendel stated she had “hit something” but was unsure what it was. When asked if it was a person or animal, she replied that it “definitely wasn’t a person.” I questioned how she could be certain given her previous statements that she did not know what or where she had hit, to which she repeated that she was unsure but maintained it was not a person.

While speaking with Ms. Brendel, I detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath. Her eyes appeared watery, she swayed noticeably, and she repeatedly used the wall for balance. When asked if she had consumed alcohol, she stated she had “two glasses of wine.”

I retrieved my department-issued Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) device after Ms. Brendel consented to provide a breath sample. The test result was 0.202, indicating the presence of alcohol.

Ms. Brendel was placed under arrest for Driving Under the Influence and secured in the rear of my patrol vehicle. I read her Georgia Implied Consent Notice for Drivers Age 21 and Over, requesting a state-administered chemical test of her blood. She refused the test verbally.

Ms. Brendel was transported to Memorial Medical Center for medical clearance prior to transport to the Chatham County Detention Center. Upon arrival at the detention center, Ms. Brendel was issued citations for the following offenses:

• Driving Under the Influence (Alcohol)
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident
• Failure to Yield

She was also provided with a copy of her DDS-1205 Administrative License Suspension Form, which she refused to sign.

Ms. Brendel was booked into the Chatham County Detention Center with a bond set at $1,500 and a court date of January 8, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in Pooler Municipal Court.

[End of Narrative]