Caitlin Ketner

Name:
Ketner, Caitlin Stephanie

Date of Booking:
05/03/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
RECORDERS COURT – DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL – LESS SAFE

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 May 03, 2026, I was patrolling in the area of Old Fountain Rd and Old Peachtree Rd when I observed two vehicles that appeared to have been involved in an accident. I made contact with [VICTIM #1] (passenger) who confirmed that he was involved in an accident. He advised that his wife [VICTIM #2] was driving south on Old Peachtree when a vehicle came out of nowhere and struck their vehicle head on. [VICTIM #1] explained that the driver of the other vehicle was still in the vehicle and had not gotten out yet.

I approached a Chevrolet Malibu and observed a female (later identified as Caitlin Ketner) sitting in the driver seat. I made contact with Ketner who was talking on the phone and did not respond to me when I asked questions. When I was able to get her attention, I immediately noticed that her eyes were glazed, watery, and bloodshot. When asked for her identification, she turned around slowly and began looking around her vehicle very slowly as well.

I asked Ketner to step out of the vehicle so we could talk about what happened. Ketner exited the vehicle slowly and was unsteady/staggered as she stumbled walking away from the vehicle. I asked Ketner to walk to the rear of her vehicle, and she was unable to walk straight. Once at the rear option of Ketner’s vehicle, she kept her phone to her ear but was not talking as she faced away from me. I had to ask Ketner to talk to me as she did not answer my question about what happened.

I again asked Ketner if she could talk to me, she chuckled and said, “I can talk to you yes”. Ketner hesitated for a moment and then told her mother that she had to let her go. Ketner pauses briefly and then tells her mother she is going to tell the truth. Ketner repeatedly apologizes and appears to cry as her voice cracks. While talking further with Ketner her speech was slow, slurred, and mumbled.

Ketner begins talking about her daughter’s soft ball game. Ketner’s speech was broken as she was having difficulty speaking in clear and concise sentences. Ketner begins talking about how she was supposed to have her birthday celebration and how she could not make it there. I advised Ketner the celebration was at the 30. I asked Ketner where the 30 was located, she paused, took a deep breath, and advised that it was at 8:30. Ketner said that she could not make her celebration because of her daughter’s championship game.

Ketner stated that she was sorry, paused to take a deep breath again. Ketner stated, “I’m guilty just do what you got to do”. When asked why, she stated that she took the turn wide as she was on the phone with her mother. Ketner advised that she knew she was going to jail for reckless driving. Throughout my conversations with Ketner, I observed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her person. Ketner later repeated that she knew she was going to jail.

Moments later, I asked Ketner if she was the only person in her vehicle at the time of the accident, she replied, “sure”. I tried to confirm with Ketner that there was no one else in the vehicle. Ketner said that her boyfriend was the driver, but he left. She stated that she got in the driver seat because its her car and she has to take accountability for that. I advised her that whoever was driving is the one that needs to be accountable. She did not make any statements afterwards. While the fire department was assessing the other involved parties, Ketner sat back in her vehicle.

After the fire department left, I insured that all flashing lights were turned off. I then asked Ketner to walk with me to my vehicle. Once at my vehicle, I asked Ketner if she had any alcohol to drink. She explained that she had three blueberry truly beverages that come in the 12 ounce can. She also explained that she had a starburst shot. Ketner said that she started drinking at 8:30pm and stopped around 11:30pm. Ketner later said that she had two truly beverages. I advised Ketner that she stated earlier that she had three and now she is saying two. Ketner confirmed that she had three truly beverages and a starburst shot.

I medically qualified Ketner and asked if she would participate in a field sobriety evaluation. She advised that she did not want to participate. She stated, “just take me to jail. I confirmed that she did not want to participate. Ketner began to cry and said, “no just take me to jail, I didn’t mean to do it.” I asked Ketner if she would utilize a preliminary breath test as it was not the state test. Ketner stated, “I’ll just go to jail, I’m not going to breath into that. I’ll just go to jail”.

Based on the observed manifestations, I developed the opinion that Ketner was driving under the influence to the extent that she was less safe to be operating a motor vehicle. At 1:32am, I advised Ketner that she was under arrest for DUI. She was placed in handcuffs, checked for fit, double-locked, and searched incident to arrest.

Afterwards, Ketner was seated in the rear passenger seat of my patrol vehicle. I confirmed Ketner’s age and read the implied consent notice for suspects age 21 or over and requested a breath sample. At 1:36am, Ketner provided a verbal no to the implied consent notice.

Ketner was transported to the Gwinnett County Jail without incident. Ketner exited my patrol vehicle and began walking towards the admissions entrance and lost her balance and had to be assisted. As Ketner was walking to speak with the jail nurse, she was walking unsteadily and tripped but was caught by the deputy that was assisting the nurse.

Ketner was released into the custody of the deputies. She received the following citations, driving under the influence of alcohol-less safe PE00634021 and improper right turn PE00634022. I retained the driver’s license and submitted it to DDS along with a DDS 1205 form due to her refusal to submit to the state breath test. She was provided with her copy.

I submitted a flock report to evidence.com to show Ketner’s direction of travel prior to the accident. The report shows a photo of Ketner’s vehicle failing to maintain lane.

[End of Narrative]