Parents admit drunk driving with kids

Two parents pleaded guilty Tuesday in separate incidents of attempted child abuse or neglect, admitting they were driving their children while intoxicated causing accidents.

The children were not injured.

Tamara Kim Smith, 44, of the Johnson Lane area, told District Judge Dave Gamble she was driving three children to a birthday party when she ran a stop sign a block from her home and collided with another vehicle.

She has been in Douglas County Jail since her May 21 arrest, but Gamble released her Tuesday on her own recognizance in accordance with a plea agreement with the district attorney's office.

She is to plead guilty in East Fork Justice Court to a second charge of driving under the influence.

A preliminary test indicated her alcohol content was .113 at the time of the accident.

"I made a terrible decision to take my children to a house where they were supposed to go," she told the judge, admitting, "I was drinking."

John Tabor, 28, of Indian Hills, told Gamble he couldn't remember what happened prior to his accident May 4 on Highway 395 south of Gardnerville.

Tabor said he took his 9-year-old son on a fishing trip along with a case of beer.

Tabor, who was crying, said he blacked out.

"I sat down by the campfire after I'd been drinking all day. I blacked out and don't remember anything after that," Tabor said.

"You were grown up enough to get drunk, black out, drive your son around and get in an accident," Gamble said. "Man up, and tell me what happened."

Tabor admitted running into another vehicle. A preliminary test indicated his alcohol content was .179, more than twice the legal limit in Nevada.

He's been in Douglas County Jail since his arrest May 5.

Tabor served 30 days in Douglas County Jail in 2007 after he struck a 3-year-old girl with his pickup truck, slightly injuring the child.

Gamble set sentencing for July 27 for both defendants.

They are ineligible for probation and face up to five years in Nevada State Prison unless a psychological test determines they are at low risk to reoffend.