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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Inga Parkel

Dance Moms star Christi Lukasiak arrested for DUI after crashing into tree

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Dance Moms star Christi Lukasiak has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

Lukasiak, the mother of dancer Chloe Lukasiak, was arrested in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania for an incident that took place on June 27, according to court documents obtained by US Weekly.

The police report said Lukasiak crashed her vehicle into a tree, knocking over a telephone pole, according to TMZ.

The report added that she admitted to having had two glasses of wine before being asked to take a preliminary breath test that came back positive.

She was also reportedly asked to submit to standard field sobriety tests, which police said concluded she could not safely operate a vehicle in her impaired state.

The Independent has contacted Lukasiak’s representative for comment.

Lukasiak appeared on Lifetime’s popular reality series Dance Moms for four seasons alongside her daughter Chloe before the two left in 2014.

Christi Lukasiak (right) was arrested and booked on DUI charges
Christi Lukasiak (right) was arrested and booked on DUI charges (Getty Images)

Chloe joined the show when she was nine. She was a prominent figure on the series and was often compared to fellow dancer Maddie Ziegler, though it seemed she could never live up to dance teacher Abby Lee Miller’s lofty standards.

Years after she departed from the show, Chloe, now 23, explained the reason for her exit was “because my former dance teacher made fun of a medical condition I have.”

She disclosed that she had been diagnosed with silent sinus syndrome, a rare condition caused by a blockage in part of the sinuses that leaves the eyes sunken in, droopy eyelids and less facial symmetry.

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In May, she returned for Dance Moms: The Reunion alongside former castmates JoJo Siwa, Paige and Brooke Hyland, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker, where they looked back on their time on the show.

“Honestly, and not in an arrogant way at all, but I knew they would be talking about all of the cast members, anyway,” Chloe told BuzzFeed of her participation. “So I was like, I’d rather be there and be able to take control of my narrative.”

She added: “I wanted to be able to just go and speak my mind and address some of the issues that we never got to talk about before.”

Following the reunion, Miller, who spent a year in prison for bankruptcy fraud, spoke out about her harsh treatment of dancers whom she felt “didn’t have the talent.”

“Because no matter how harsh I was on the kid, they weren’t going to get it. They just didn’t have the talent. They didn’t have it,” she said during an appearance on ABC News.

When confronted by the ABC host about her statement, saying: “You’re saying you regret it not because you hurt the kid’s feelings but because it was pointless?” Miller took a long pause before replying.

“Well,” she said. “No, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, I want to get them to be better and to be the best that they can be.”

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