Rhiannon Mabbett said she and her new husband, Jeff, were being driven to a hotel in a friend's car when another vehicle rear-ended them at a traffic light, The Dominion Post reported Tuesday.

"We pulled around the corner, and my mate (the driver) got out of the car and asked the guy where his license was," she said. "The guy was too drunk, and all he could really say was, `I'm a criminal, I'll pay you now."'

She said the man tried to drive off as she phoned the police.

"He tried to drive forward -- and ran over my wedding dress, the prat," Mabbett said.

She said the drunken driver started fleeing on foot, and she pursued him while still wearing her full wedding gown.

"He decided to walk off. The cops told me to follow him, so I followed him. And then he started running, so I started running after him in my wedding dress, up the street," she said.

Mabbett followed the man to a dark alley, where police arrested him. The man was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol and driving while disqualified.