A retired Florida judge was taken into custody by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies on the night of June 29 after she was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run crash while under the influence of alcohol. The 61-year-old Jupiter resident has been charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Breath tests conducted several hours after the incident are said to have revealed that the former judge still had a blood alcohol concentration that was roughly double the legal driving limit.
Deputies began to search for a white BMW sedan after being dispatched to a residence near Blue Heron Boulevard and Interstate 95 in Palm Beach at approximately 11:00 p.m. to investigate reports of a hit-and-run traffic accident. Eyewitnesses told deputies that the car had left the area using the southbound lanes of Avenue O. When deputies located the car, they said that its driver initially refused to pull over.
When the vehicle pull over, deputies say they noticed that its front end was damaged. They also claim that the woman behind the wheel seemed incoherent and was unsteady on her feet when she exited the vehicle. She was placed under arrest after she allegedly failed to complete a standardized field sobriety test. She was then treated at a nearby hospital before being transported to the Palm Beach County Jail.
Leaving the scene of even a minor accident and refusing to pull over when directed to do so by police will almost always make a bad situation even worse. Such behavior can result in additional charges and could make it more difficult for criminal defense attorneys to convince prosecutors to consider a more lenient approach. This why attorneys may advise motorists facing drunk driving charges to cooperate with the officers involved and then politely ask for a lawyer.