NC Teen Charged in DWI Crash Released from Jail

Kirstie Pienta, the 19-year-old woman charged with hitting three pedestrians while driving drunk, has bonded out of jail. The pedestrians were leaving Jackalope Jack’s in the Elizabeth neighborhood on August 1 when Pienta crashed into them.

One of the three pedestrians, Danielle Moore, remains in the hospital and is scheduled to have her 12th surgery on her leg since she was injured in the accident. Moore is a teacher who was recently offered a new teaching job. However, she is unable to accept the position now, as her doctors have informed her that her recovery will take about two years. Still, Moore insists she is not angry and is focusing on her recovery rather than the accident.

Pienta had received a previous DWI charge in May. She lost her license at that time, but it was reinstated prior to the August 1 accident.

Employees who were working at Jackalope Jack’s the night of the accident are shocked that Penta is already out of jail. One employee stated that it seemed as though Pienta did not have a sense of consequence because she drove drunk twice in such a short period of time.

According to members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, there are 700,000 to 800,000 drunk driving arrests in North Carolina every year. Of those, about one-third of arrests are repeat offenders who are driving with revoked licenses.

Eyewitness News contacted Mecklenburg County to determine if Pienta is currently allowed to drive, but the call was not immediately returned.

Pienta is due back in court at the end of the month.

Source: WSOCTV.com “Teen Charged With DWI In Pedestrian Crash Out Of Jail” 8/20/10