Drunk man injures woman?s eye

A man who injured a woman?s eye as she was trying to stop him from driving drunk will serve 240 days behind bars.

The defendant, Norberto Ortiz Chavez, 43, entered a guilty plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to charges of aggravated assault and driving on a revoked license. He was ordered to serve 240 days of a four-year sentence and must make restitution for the medical bills of his victim, Judy Drewer.

The incident which left the victim partially blind happened in March 2006 when Drewer said she was attempting to stop Chavez from leaving in an automobile because he had been drinking and was apparently in no condition to drive safely.

It was as she was trying to stop him that the victim said he struck her in the eye with his fist. The impact of the blow reportedly detached Drewer?s retina leaving her blind in one eye.

?I will never see out of it again,? Drewer said of the blindness caused by the blow.

While on bond facing the aggravated assault charge, Chavez was arrested for driving on a revoked license when he was pulled over a month later and could only display a Mexican identification card, leading lawmen to suspect Chavez had no license to drive a month before when Drewer was trying to stop him from getting behind the wheel drunk.