Top Chef champion Kelsey Barnard Clark was arrested Wednesday night and charged with driving under the influence after crashing her car in a residential neighborhood in Alabama, with two children reportedly inside the vehicle at the time.
Clark, 35, was taken into custody after officers from the Dothan Police Department responded to a report of a crash on Selkirk Drive in Dothan. According to local reports, the vehicle struck a mailbox in the 1300 block of the street.
“We received a call regarding a vehicle striking the mailbox,” Lt. Scott Owens, a public information officer for the department, told local station WRBC 6 News. “Our officers who responded to the scene determined that Ms. Clark was under the influence.”
Top Chef season 16 winner Kelsey Barnard Clark shows off one of her creations during the 2019 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Aspen Food Wine Classic 2019
Police said no one was injured in the incident. The two children who were reportedly in the car were allowed to leave the scene with a family member. Clark, however, was taken to jail, where she spent the night before being formally charged with a DUI.
Clark rose to national prominence after winning Top Chef, becoming a fan favorite for her Southern-inspired cooking and calm demeanor in the kitchen. The arrest marks a sharp contrast from her public image as a rising culinary star.
As of now, no additional charges beyond the DUI have been announced, and authorities have not released further details about the circumstances leading up to the crash.
