RIPLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A routine traffic stop in Ripley escalated into a DUI arrest after a 19-year-old driver ignored police warnings and returned to the scene, according to the Ripley Police Department.

At approximately 9:11 p.m., Officer Steven Fisher initiated a traffic stop on a dark-colored sedan near Collision Specialist on Cedar Lakes Drive. The vehicle was reportedly speeding, following too closely, and traveling without tail lights.

The driver, later identified as a 17-year-old female, and her passenger, 19-year-old David Withrow, were questioned during the stop. While speaking with the pair, Officer Fisher noticed an open beer bottle in the back floorboard. Both teens initially denied drinking, but later admitted to consuming alcohol and THC products earlier in the evening.

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