Judge Adria Kester was in a 2026 GMC Canyon Denali driving drunk, and the wrong way on road, she ran into median, court documents say
Chief Judge Adria Kester, 55, was arrested on November 4, 2025 accused of driving drunk on an Iowa highway in a 2026 GMC Canyon Denali. Judge Kester is the chief judge of the Second Judicial District in Iowa. She oversees 36 judges. The judge is accused of driving the wrong way on a highway.
Motorists called 911 after 8 p.m. on Tuesday night to report a GMC Canyon Denali driven by Judge Kester was slowly driving in the wrong direction into oncoming traffic on U.S. Highway 30 near Boone County, Iowa. The vehicle driven by the judge drove into a highway median.
A passerby saw the crash, the GMC continued to drive into the median slowly, the passerby had to jump in the window of the GMC to put the vehicle in park, because the judge was dazed and confused.
As officers approached, Judge Kester was unconscious and slumped over the steering wheel. A deputy with the Boone County sheriff’s office said he found Judge Kester in the driver’s seat appearing to be heavily intoxicated and unsteady.
Judge Kester could not walk on her own and was assisted to an ambulance for treatment. Judge Kester refused to answer whether she would be willing to undergo field sobriety testing. Click here to see more cases of judge’s being arrested.
A warrant was issued to obtain a sample of Kester’s blood at the Boone County Hospital. She was arrested for first offense operating while intoxicated and booked into jail around 4 a.m.
The judge’s blood specimen will be shipped to a state crime laboratory for testing.
