LCSO: Impaired woman driving SUV crossed center line, injured 16-year-old driver

A 16-year-old girl was taken to a hospital for minor injuries early Sunday after a woman driving an SUV crossed a center line in northern Linn County and crashed head-on into the car the girl was driving.

At 12:17 a.m., Julia Gharib, 50, of Marion, was driving a Toyota 4Runner south on Highway 13 near the Linn Delaware Road intersection when she crossed the center line and collided with a northbound Chevrolet Malibu driven by Ava Bockenstedt, 16, of Manchester, a Linn County Sheriff’s Office news release said.

Bockenstedt was transported by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids for minor injuries. The release did not specify whether Gharib was injured. Both said they were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

Gharib was charged with operating while intoxicated and improper use of lanes.

Court records show Gharib was charged with second-offense OWI on Sunday after providing a breath specimen at the Linn County Jail indicating a blood alcohol level of 0.094. The criminal complaint said Gharib had received a deferred judgment for OWI in 2017 in Linn County.