A judge shut down Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger’s plea to not allow statements she made to police and bodycam footage of her DUI arrest from being used as evidence, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, a Maryland judge denied Karen’s motion seeking to suppress certain evidence. Back in March, Karen, 61, was involved in a car accident while driving her 2017 Maserati.
She was the only person in the car when it struck a median and a street sign at an intersection before slamming into a tree.
Police arrested Karen due to them believing she was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Prosecutors charged Karen with driving under the influence, negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, endangering property, life and person, and various other counts.
As In Touch first reported, Karen claimed after her crash she spoke to officer Kyle Baxter and Sergeant Brett Trahan. The reality star said she was checked out by medical professionals but refused further treatment.
Her husband, Raymond Huger, showed up at the scene. Karen claimed one of the officers grabbed her arm after she was finished at the ambulance.
She said he told her she was not free to leave. Karen said the officers started to interrogate her but did not read her the Miranda Rights. She argued that any statements she made to the police were the result of an illegal interrogation and should be suppressed.
The RHOP star demanded the evidence, including the bodycam footage of her talking to police, not be allowed in court.
She also asked for the entire case to be dismissed.
The prosecutors scoffed at Karen’s request.
The prosecutors said, “Officers additionally observed the driver of the vehicle, the defendant, unsteady on her feet, swaying, stumbling, and slurring her speech. Furthermore, the initial caller spoke to officers on scene and indicated that prior to police arrival, the defendant appeared confused and the caller smelled alcohol when interacting with the defendant.”
They continued, “[Karen’s] statements were not obtained as a result of a custodial interrogation because some of her statements were made while Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel were treating the defendant for potential injuries. [Karen’s] statements made during this time were free and voluntary, and were stated out loud while in the presence of police officers.”
At the recent hearing, the judge sided with prosecutors after reviewing the bodycam footage.
He noted that, “The two police separately and persistently asked [Karen] to tell them what happened. They asked her questions like where she had been, where she was coming from and how did the accident take place. [Karen] wasn’t forthcoming with her answers. [Karen’s] husband arrived on the scene soon after the police arrived and was by her side until she was arrested.”
The judge continued, “All interrogation took place in the road or roadside, in public with emergency personnel and the emergency vehicle in immediate proximate. The police never used force, impeded [Karen’s] movements or drew weapons. The interrogation was brief and [Karen] was uncooperative, which was her right.”
He added, “After evaluating the scene and getting only bits and pieces of information from [Karen] and her husband the police arrested her and took her from the scene.”
The judge said he concluded that “[Karen] was not taken into custody for purposes of Miranda and consequently all statements made by [Karen] until the police formally announced that [she] was under arrest and arrested her are admissible against her at trial.”
Karen released a statement after the accident.
She said, “Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes during this very frightening experience. I am still in shock from last night’s incident, but grateful to be alive today. With the passing of my Beloved Mother, Grief comes and goes in waves, and with Mother’s Day approaching it has felt more like a tsunami.”
The RHOP star lost her mom and dad in 2017.
She continued, “Last night I met a girlfriend for dinner, we talked and brought up some very emotionally sensitive topics. I was crying on my way home and saw a car heading right for me. I swerved to avoid the head-on collision, hit the divider, and then a tree. I’m hurt, bruised up a bit, but so grateful I am alive! I did receive citations, one of which was unrelated to the incident which is understandable, but what was most surprising is that the car that almost hit me just drove away!”
She ended, “I would like to stress, it’s important to understand your emotional state when driving and may this be a reminder to all to use their seatbelts, my Mother may be my Guardian Angel but the seatbelt saved my life.”
