Arkansas Woman Blames Pharmacy for Fender Bender

A Conway, Ark., woman blames a pharmacy mix-up for a series of fender benders she caused at a fast food restaurant.

Jennifer Starkey Spaeth, 32, says the Vilonia Pharmacy and Florist gave her the sleep medicine Ambien instead of her migraine prescription pills. Spaeth said she took the drug before driving Friday and it caused her to fall asleep, leading to the damage of seven vehicles, including her own.

Spaeth said she took one of the pills — which resembled her migraine medication — and that the next thing she remembered was being released from the Conway Regional Medical Center after she was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated.

Vilonia Pharmacy and Florist workers refused to comment to the Log Cabin Democrat, citing medical privacy laws.

Spaeth was on her way to work at JLynn Salon when the accidents happened near a Sonic restaurant. JLynn owner Janet Bainter says the salon received several phone calls from the pharmacy that day.

“They kept calling and telling the girls they needed to get in touch with (Spaeth) and that it was an emergency,” Bainter said. “Finally one of the girls asked what the emergency was and they said they had given her the wrong pills.”

Conway police say Spaeth was “very confused and disorganized” and that she fell asleep five times while talking to police and four times while her blood was being drawn.

“As bad as it was, it would have been 10 times worse” if anyone had been hurt in the incident, Spaeth said.

Lt. Danny Moody of the Conway Police Department said Spaeth’s blood analysis is still being processed.

Information from: Log Cabin Democrat, www.thecabin.net