MASON CITY – This Northern Iowa woman can’t seem to figure out how to drive a car without getting herself into trouble, from stealing a vehicle to slamming cold ones to enhance her traveling pleasure, her hijinks have cost her jail time and thousands in fines.
Lacey Marie Prohaska, age 40 of Garner, Iowa, is nestled up in the Cerro Gordo county jail this weekend after a judge in Black Hawk county gave her a special consideration. She was nabbed for drunk driving by Waterloo police last October, and after she battled the inevitable outcome in court for months, finally copped a guilty plea to second offense operating while intoxicated. She was ultimately sentenced to 180 days in jail, with all but 7 suspended, and a judge let her serve her sentence in the Cerro Gordo county jail as some kind of a favor. She was also ordered to pay Iowa courts $2,256.25.
Back in September of 2020, Prohaska (pictured at top) was nabbed in Bremer county for drunk driving, and after a guilty plea, a judge suspended half of her fine, so she only had to pay Iowa courts $858.75. This lenient judge allowed this plea deal despite Prohaska’s criminal record of driving a car without the owner’s consent, a crime she was guilty of in Mason City back in 2015, and then she violated her probation twice. NIT reported at the time that Prohaska stole a car and was ordered to serve two days in jail (365 day sentence with all but 2 days suspended) and to pay Iowa courts $1,955.11 in fines and court fees.
In Iowa, approximately 116 people die each year in alcohol-impaired motor vehicle crashes, according to AutoInsurance.com. This accounts for a significant portion of traffic fatalities, with an average of 37% of traffic deaths in Iowa involving some form of impairment, according to Drive Smart Iowa.
NIT also reported that Prohaska had been arrested in Charles City at least three times in 2015.