Kristin Funke: former Hooters girl guilty of drink driving in Sydney
An American nursing student, former Hooters girl and aspiring glamour model who once appeared in a documentary series about underage delinquents said she was “humiliated” after she was found guilty of mid-range drink driving in Sydney last month.
St George Shire Standard
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An all-American nursing student, former Hooters girl and aspiring glamour model who once appeared in a documentary series about underage delinquents said she was “humiliated” after she was found guilty of mid-range drink driving in Sydney’s south last month.
Kristin Funke, 21, lost her driver’s licence for three months after she returned a mid-range blood alcohol reading of 0.084 after a random breath test on the Princes Hwy in Blakehurst at 10.30pm on November 17.
Sutherland Court magistrate Glenn Walsh heard Funke told officers she had two glasses of red wine between 8.30pm and 10.30pm before she was pulled over.
“The accused had a mild smell of intoxicating liquor and her eyes appeared slightly glazed,” the police facts read.
She was also fined $750 and will have to hold an interlock licence for 12 months after her disqualification, which requires her to provide a breath sample before she can switch her car on.
However, Funke will return to the University of Missouri to continue her nursing studies next Tuesday for three months and will not be in Australia during her disqualification.
Mr Walsh said Funke must have known she was affected by alcohol when she decided to drive “for the sake of convenience”.
“I give little weight to the assurances of having had two drinks,” Mr Walsh said.
“This is a prevalent offence that causes untold danger to the community — to take the risk of driving is taking a risk with other people’s lives.”
In 2012 Funke appeared in the Emmy-nominated American documentary series Beyond Scared Straight, where juvenile delinquentss visit American prisons to see the harsh consequences of crime.
“I’m Kristin, I’m 15, and I smoke weed and sneak out,” Funke told the camera.
“I’m a cheerleader and I’ve been taken out of cheerleading because of my decisions.”
Funke said she snuck out to parties where “kids do cocaine, pop pills (and) smoke weed”.
“I have fun when I smoke weed,” Funke said.
“I’ve taken my mom’s car and started driving it without a licence, the cops saw us and I got in trouble because I’m only 15 and it was past curfew.”
The police prosecutor at Sutherland Court acknowledged she had been unable to access Funke’s records prior to her arrival in Australia 18 months ago.
Funke, who hails from Missouri, has been living in Burraneer with her partner of three years and working at Foodies Cafe in Sans Souci.
The aspiring model was photographed for the Hooters calendar in 2018, and was also a top 10 international contestant in the 2017 Maxim’s Finest lingerie modelling contest.
Her solicitor Ms Shah told the court Funke intends to return to Australia to work as a registered nurse when she completes her studies.
“While the offence had some degree of planning, the offence was outside of her character,” Ms Shah told the court.
“She accepts her responsibility for her stupid mistake.”
In a letter provided to the court, Funke said she regretted her choices and begged Mr Walsh for his forgiveness.