FOREST PARK — Minutes before a head-on collision that police say was alcohol-related, Lea Ann Vaughn had been cited for an improper turn in Fairfield.

        Fairfield Police Officer Brad Wolfe stopped Ms. Vaughn at 9:40 p.m. Nov. 5 at South Gilmore Road and Dixie Highway.

        By 9:51 p.m., he had handed Ms. Vaughn a citation. Thirteen minutes later — and less than five miles away — Ms. Vaughn's 1986 Chevy Z-28 slammed into David Ratliff's 1996 Plymouth Breeze. Both parties suffered significant injuries in the wreck at Kemper and Mill roads.

        “I'd like to know why they didn't take any action,” Mr. Ratliff, 49, of Hamilton, said last week, astounded to hear of Ms. Vaughn's earlier traffic stop. “There was a chance this could have been prevented.”

        Though unfortunate, such situations “are not all that unusual nationwide,” said Mike Taylor, a Columbus police officer and spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio.

        Signs of possible intoxication sometimes may be difficult to notice — and they vary from person to person, he said.

        “Some people can drink a lot and their eyes never get bloodshot; their speech never gets slurred,” Officer Taylor said. Without noting such signs, an officer lacks “probable cause” to order someone to perform a field-sobriety test or undergo a breath test, Officer Taylor said.

        Lt. Ken Colburn, Fairfield police spokesman, said neither he nor Officer Wolfe wished to comment.

        Ms. Vaughn is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Forest Park Mayor's Court on a charge of driving under the influence.

        Forest Park Police Lt. Gary Terrell said his investigating officer “indicated he could smell the alcohol ... and it was obvious to him that (Ms. Vaughn) had been drinking.”

        Ms. Vaughn, 27, of Monroe, was hurt too badly to be administered a breath test at the scene. She had to be cut out of her vehicle and then was airlifted to University Hospital, where a blood sample was drawn. Police were still awaiting test results on her alcohol level at last check.

        Although she was at first listed in critical condition, Ms. Vaughn was discharged the next day, the hospital said. Ms. Vaughn says she suffered a broken hip and bruised heart, adding, “I'm pretty much in shock about what I've done. I feel like the worst person in the whole world.”

        The only prior blemish on her Ohio driving record was a 1999 speeding conviction.

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