Palm Coast woman arrested on DUI charge while trying to pick up child at school, deputies say
Woman arrested on DUI charge while trying to pick up child at school
A Palm Coast woman was arrested on a DUI charge after school staff reported she appeared impaired while trying to pick up a child at Wadsworth Elementary School, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
PALM COAST, Fla. - A Palm Coast woman was arrested on a DUI charge after school staff reported she appeared impaired while trying to pick up a child at Wadsworth Elementary School, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Woman struggled to maintain balance: Deputies
The backstory:
Rebecca Beard, 28, was arrested Oct. 15 after a school resource deputy was alerted to a woman in the school's front lobby who appeared unable to safely sign out a student.
School staff reported that Beard struggled to enter the building, had slurred speech and glassy eyes, and could not legibly write the name of the student she was attempting to pick up, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said they smelled alcohol on Beard's breath and observed that she was unsteady and appeared tired. Beard told deputies she had taken prescription medication the previous night and was drowsy.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that allegedly showed Beard driving erratically as she entered the school parking lot. Deputies said she struggled to follow instructions and maintain her balance during field sobriety exercises.
Rebecca Beard, 28, was arrested Oct. 15 after a school resource deputy was alerted to a woman in the school's front lobby who appeared unable to safely sign out a student.
Beard was arrested on a DUI charge and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. Breath tests showed blood alcohol concentrations of 0.298 and 0.294, according to the Sheriff's Office. Florida's legal limit for most drivers is 0.08.
What they're saying:
Deputies later searched Beard's vehicle and said they found a large, empty bottle of vodka under the back passenger seat, authorities said.
"This woman endangered all the drivers on the roadway, children and cars on the campus, and had planned to pick up a student and try to drive home drunk, once again endangering everyone," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement.
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore also praised employees for reporting the suspected impairment.
"We are proud to see our employees putting ‘See Something, Say Something’ to work to help keep our students and our campuses safe," Moore said. "It takes everyone working together to safeguard our amazing students."
What's next:
Beard was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later released on a $1,000 bond, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.