CLEAR LAKE — A Clear Lake woman allegedly drove without headlights, struck another vehicle on Highway 18 and left the scene before police caught up with her and arrested her on a felony third-offense OWI charge and six additional counts.
Tina Marie Debban, 48, of Clear Lake, was arrested following the collision Tuesday evening, October 27, 2026, according to Clear Lake Police Chief Michael Colby and a jail booking record.
Clear Lake Dispatch received a 911 call around 7:47 p.m. from a motorist reporting that another vehicle had struck their vehicle and left the crash scene. The caller told dispatch they were following the departing vehicle.
A Clear Lake officer located both vehicles in the 300 block of North Eighth Street and contacted the people involved.
Colby said investigators determined Debban had been driving a 2007 Pontiac without its headlights on when she turned onto U.S. Highway 18 at North Sixth Street and struck an eastbound 2026 Mazda.
Debban (pictured at top) failed to stop and exchange information with the Mazda’s driver, according to Colby.
Officers observed signs of impairment while speaking with Debban and determined she did not have a valid Iowa driver’s license, the chief said. She was arrested at the conclusion of the investigation.
The booking record lists seven charges: operating while intoxicated, third or subsequent offense; driving while her license was denied, suspended, canceled or revoked; leaving the scene of an accident involving vehicle damage; failure to provide proof of financial liability following an accident; operating without an ignition interlock device; failure to obey a stop sign and yield the right of way; and failure to use headlights when required.
Colby described the license allegation as driving with a suspended Iowa license. The booking record separately lists the charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage crash.
Debban was booked at 9:59 p.m. October 27. The supplied jail record listed a $5,000 cash or surety bond; it does not establish her current custody status.
Police did not provide the specific Pontiac or Mazda models, damage estimates or information about injuries.
The arrest follows another recent Northern Iowa impaired-driving investigation in which a 23-year-old man was arrested on an OWI charge after a Pocahontas County traffic stop.
The charges against Debban are allegations. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.