A Washington state woman found passed out behind the wheel of her SUV at her child’s elementary school had a blood-alcohol level that was nearly six times the legal limit, according to officials.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that breath tests showed the 33-year-old mother’s blood-alcohol content was .461 and .466. The state legal limit is .08.
The woman was taken to hospital for medical observation and cited for DUI. Her name has not been made public.
An allegedly inebriated 33-year-old mother was found asleep at the wheel of her SUV in the parking lot of Graham Elementary School in Washington state Tuesday
According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, at 3.15pm deputies responded to Graham Elementary School in Graham after getting a call about a woman who appeared to be unconscious behind the wheel of her vehicle in the parking lot.
The mother was spotted in that state by a school employee who had walked her child out to the car for pick-up.
When the school staffer saw the mother asleep at the wheel, she knocked several times on the car window until the woman woke up.
The female motorist struggled to unlock the SUV’s doors and roll down the windows, according to the report. When the school worker finally got to talk to the mom, she smelled alcohol on her, which prompted her to take the woman’s child back inside the school and call 911.
When firefighters responded to the scene, the 33-year-old mom became agitated and tried to walk away, at which point the first responders contacted the sheriff’s department for assistance and secured the woman in the backseat of her SUV until deputies arrived.
The sheriff’s officers observed the woman had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol, but she was able to talk and answer questions.
The 33-year-old was taken into custody and transported to a precinct for a blood alcohol content test.
Pierce county Sheriff’s deputies observed the woman had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol
‘As the traffic deputy awaited the test results, the woman struck up a conversation with him about the Seahawks game from the day before,’ according to the statement. ‘The deputy was shocked when the BAC ticket printed out at a .461 and a .466 test result.’
The mother was then placed into a patrol car and transported to a hospital for medical observation. She was later cited for DUI – Physical Control of a Vehicle While Intoxicated. Her SUV was impounded with a 12-hour hold placed on it.
Deputies contacted her spouse, who is currently deployed overseas with the military, and were able to place her child with a family friend.