Florida woman accused of driving drunk to pick up child from school

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A Florida woman was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence to pick up a child from school.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said staff at Wadsworth Elementary School in Palm Coast, Fla., noticed a woman who appeared impaired in the school’s lobby last Thursday.

“School staff reported the woman struggled getting in the door, had slurred speech and glassy eyes, and could not legibly write the name of the student she was trying to sign out,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

It said when deputies spoke to the woman, they noted the smell of alcohol on her breath, her speech was slurred, and that she appeared unsteady and tired.

The woman allegedly told deputies that she had taken prescription medication the night before and was drowsy.

Cops release body camera footage

Deputies reviewed surveillance footage, which allegedly showed the woman driving erratically as her vehicle entered the school’s parking lot.

In body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office, a deputy is seen instructing the woman on how to perform two field sobriety exercises, but she struggles to follow his instructions, crying as deputies place her in handcuffs.

Rebecca Beard, 28, of Palm Coast, was arrested for driving under the influence, and was taken to the county jail, where she provided breath tests.

The sheriff’s office said her breath tests showed blood alcohol concentrations of 0.298 and 0.294, which were over the state’s legal limit of 0.08.

Deputies later searched her vehicle and allegedly found an empty vodka bottle under the back passenger seat.

“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,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement.

“I am thankful that school staff was vigilant and alerted the SRD (school resource deputy) and deputies so they could intervene. This is a great example of ‘See Something, Say Something’ in action and our school staff and deputies working together to keep our children safe,” Staly added.

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