ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A St. Augustine woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence with her 9-year-old daughter in the car.
Kathryn Harrison, 42, was arrested early Sunday after a deputy pulled her over after noticing she was driving with her emergency lights flashing while driving on the rim on the car's wheels.
Two separate witnesses had called 911 to report what they considered reckless driving.
"You never know what you may have prevented, so they could have prevented a tragedy from occurring," St. Johns County Sheriff's Office public information officer Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan said.
The deputy had Harrison pull over into a Kangaroo gas station to question her. Witnesses said she was driving with a flat tire after hitting a curb near Oceans Villas. Harrison said she had spent time there earlier that day with friends.
Harrison told the deputy she didn't realize she was driving on her rim.
The arrest report said Harrison was unable to pass some of the motor skill tests. She had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Another person came to pick up the child while Harrison was being taken into custody.
"When we find situations like this [and] we have to arrest a parent and the child is very upset, we handle that with kids gloves, and obviously the child is always important to us," Mulligan said.
The SJCSO said the agency contacted the Florida Department of Children and Family Services.
WJAX
