The Corbin Funeral Home employee whom police said was drunk while driving a hearse on I-75 in December, entered an “Alford Plea” to the charges in Whitley District Court.
Thirty-six-year-old Leslie Gambrel entered the plea during a hearing on March 24. An Alford Plea, means the defendant is not admitting guilt but recognizes that there may be sufficient evidence to return a conviction should the case go to trial.
According to court documents, Gambrel entered the Alford Plea on the charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs and reckless driving.
The remaining charge of driving too slow for traffic conditions was dismissed.
In return for the plea, Gambrel received 30 days in jail and her license was suspended for 90 days, conditionally discharged for two years, provided she have no further legal issues in that time.
Gambrel was fined $100 for the reckless driving charge and $200 on the DUI, along with $538 in court costs.
Gambrel was taken into custody at 2:23 a.m. Dec. 23 following a traffic stop on northbound I-75 between Exits 25 and 29.
Corbin Police Officer Mike Bisschop reported following the hearse for several miles as it weaved from the median to the shoulder and back several times while travelling between 30-35 mph.
Biscchop stated that the driver, later identified as Gambrel, failed several field sobriety tests. She was taken to Baptist Health Corbin, but refused any chemical tests to determine if she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while driving.
However, Bisschop stated Gambrel admitted to taking the prescription drugs Klonopin and Percocet, prior to driving.
Corbin Police Major Rob Jones, the department’s public affairs officer, said previously that there was a body in the back of the hearse at the time, which Gambrel was taking to the funeral home on Cumberland Gap Pkwy.
Officials with the funeral home denied Gambrel was employed at the funeral home, saying she had given her resignation approximately two weeks prior to the incident.
The hearse Gambrel was driving that morning was seen parked on Corbin Funeral Home property later that afternoon.
At the time of the incident, Gambrel was listed on the funeral home’s website as Chief Financial Officer, President, Funeral Director and Embalmer. By that afternoon, her name, photograph and qualifications had been removed from the website.
As of Tuesday, Gambrel remains listed as the President of Corbin Funeral Home with the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office.
