Now-former MATA employee accused of DUI in take-home vehicle; shown convicted of drunk driving in 2015

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The now-former safety and security team member for Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) was arrested in DeSoto County last month after she allegedly drove a take-home vehicle while under the influence.

This was one of many topics that the Memphis City Council probed in Tuesday’s committee meeting with MATA officials.

Records show that the Hernando Police Department charged 44-year-old Edwina Hankins with DUI, failure to yield, reckless driving, and driving on the wrong side of the road on August 4.

She was released on a $1,250 bond.

In Shelby County, court records reveal that Hankins has a history of similar driving offenses. She was sentenced to almost a year in local confinement for DUI in 2015.

That conviction came after Memphis police allegedly watched her driving erratically in the Raleigh area on Aug. 14, 2014.

The arrest affidavit notes that Hankins told the officers who pulled her that she had been out drinking on Beale Street. A clear plastic cup with alcohol was reportedly found in the car’s cup holder.

Police allege they had to help Hankins out of her car.

According to Tuesday’s city council discussion, Hankins activated lights in her take-home vehicle while getting pulled over in Hernando last month.

MATA would not verify when Hankins was released from her position, only telling Action News 5 in a statement:

Edwina is no longer an employee and I can not speak on personnel matters.

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