02-05-2025
Cedar Park assistant principal charged with DWI after early morning collision with cyclist
An elementary school administrator in Cedar Park has been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.
Marta Alicia Johnson, 51, was taken into custody early Monday morning at Reed Elementary School, where she works as an assistant principal.
A Cedar Park police officer was dispatched to the campus at about 7:20 a.m. in response to reports of a collision between a car and a cyclist, according to a Williamson County affidavit obtained by the American-Statesman. The officer found the cyclist laying on the ground and Johnson sitting inside her car.
Johnson had "bloodshot red and glassy eyes" and smelled "strongly" of alcohol, the affidavit said. She also was unable to maintain her balance while standing, swaying "from side to side."
After Johnson failed a standardized field sobriety test, the officer administered a breathalyzer test, according to the affidavit. She blew 0.282 — more than three times the legal limit.
Johnson was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, a class-A misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of up to $4,000 and a jail sentence of up to one year.
Asked to comment, Leander Independent School District spokesperson Crestina Hardie referred the Statesman to a letter the school's head principal sent to parents later Monday. In the letter, Reed Principal Cynthia Griggs said that "the school staff member involved in a Monday crash had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by law enforcement and the district."
According to the affidavit, Johnson told police she had drank two White Claw hard seltzers and gone to sleep at 3 a.m. She also said she had been on her phone at the time of the accident. The cyclist involved suffered an apparent broken arm and small lacerations on his hand, the document stated.
A school Facebook post shows Johnson joined the staff at Reed in 2021.
American-Statesman staff writer Claire Osborne contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-area elementary school assistant principal charged with DWI
