PALM COAST, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Palm Coast woman after staff at an elementary school noticed she appeared impaired while trying to pick up a child in the car circle.
Rebecca Beard, 28, was charged with DUI after failing a field sobriety test in front of Wadsworth Elementary School. Officers later determined she had driven there with a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit.
On Thursday, a school resource deputy was notified by a staff member that a woman in the front lobby was attempting to pick up a child and appeared impaired, according to a police news release.
Police said 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.
Body cam video shows deputies making contact with Beard. While speaking with her, they smelled the odor of alcohol on her breath and noticed she had slurred speech, was unsteady, and appeared tired, police said.
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She told deputies she had taken prescription medication the night before and was drowsy. Police said surveillance footage showed Beard driving erratically while entering the school’s parking lot. Police located a large empty bottle of vodka in her car.
During the exercises, Beard can be seen on body-cam video failing to follow instructions and struggling to maintain her balance.
She was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where breath tests indicated she had a BAC of 0.298.
“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.
“I am thankful that school staff was vigilant and alerted the SRD 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.”
Beard was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she was later released on a $1,000 bond.
View body camera footage from Beard’s arrest.
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