Florida Man has a female version...

[Archae]

I'd like to know why this woman is not in jail.

Witness grabs keys from driver after SUV hits child

AUBURNDALE, FL (WFLA) – A little girl is fighting for her life after being hit by an SUV Wednesday in Auburndale, Fla. The driver is walking free. Witnesses claim she was chugging a beer behind the wheel.

One witness is getting a lot of praise for his quick thinking. Efrain Crespo was working nearby when he heard the sister of the victim scream that the child had been struck. Crespo ran toward the commotion to find 35-year-old Regina Shelton trying to leave the scene.

“The mother said, ‘Hey, she’s trying to leave,’ and the passenger door was open, I don’t know why. I just went inside, grabbed the key out from her, just put it in my pocket until the cops came,” Crespo said.

Shelton, who had just hit and dragged 5-year-old Jasira Santos then did something Crespo still can’t believe.

“She just opened the door, popped the beer and went like that — 16 ounce,” Crespo said.

Crespo isn’t the only one on the scene who noticed Shelton’s strange behavior and suspected she was drunk behind the wheel. “Slumped over with her head down. Not really paying attention or aware anybody was around her,” Patrick Flewellen.

Now everyone’s thoughts have shifted to 5-year-old Jasira, who Thursday was still in critical condition. “All night long, just praying for her to be alive,” Crespo said.

“My prayer is that she soon recovers,” neighbor Mary Jackson said.

She’s a little girl who’s earned a reputation for brightening the days of those she passes.

“She was a sweet little girl. She always smiled ….and I just hate that it happened to her,” Jackson said.

The driver of that car has a history of arrests in Polk County but has not been charged in this case. Police said they’re waiting on toxicology results, which could take two months.

http://wbay.com/2015/11/05/witness-grab-keys-from-driver-after-suv-hits-child/

[yeoman6987]

1. Great. A good lawyer could get her out of the drinking portion of this crime

Jury. She was so destraught that she started drinking after getting out of the car. Ugh!

[MH1]

2. Even if there are multiple witnesses who saw her with an open beer moments

after hitting the little girl?

You might be right, I'd just be stunned if that were the case.

I don't know how to keep hard core alcoholics out of the driver's seat but I sure wish we could.

[Archae]

3. I hear of new cars that will have alcohol breath sensors...

I have my doubts about those.

I had a relative who got busted many times for driving drunk, in jail he made his own booze by putting fruit into a plastic bag, and letting it ferment.

The very day he was let out of jail, he went to the nearest bar and got really plowed.

Finally his liver blew up and he died.
Afraid that's the only way to stop a dedicated drunk driver.

[NutmegYankee]

4. Cars are not going to have sensors.

Few are going to buy them with passive sensors because they know they are very unreliable. Even the far more reliable tube blowing based systems sometimes malfunction and many people can't use those because of medical issues.

And now that the Library of Congress approved copyright law exemptions from the DMCA that will allow you to modify the software on your car, users could just disable the system at will.

[Ex Lurker]

8. Nor should they.

I don't drink. Why should I have to blow into an alcohol sensor to star my car?

[Reter]

5. 2 months? Why didn't they use the breathalyzer right there?

Awful policing.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. My thought too.

Esp. in Fla, which was an early entry into Drug Courts.

[Reter]

9. I got tested for making a right turn on a red light once

As you may or may not know, right on red is illegal in NYC, unless signs say it's allowed. So I went through it (bad me, I know) after coming home from a concert. I was pulled over. Officer correctly said why I was pulled over. Then he said "Have you been drinking?" I said something like "No officer, the last drink I had was over a month ago." He then said "ok, then do the breathalyzer test."

Well, I got out of the car, did it, and he smiled and said you can go home.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. and no ticket????

Lucky you.

[Reter]

12. I think he was just out for drunks

It would have been pretty awful to give me a ticket and make me step out and pass a breathalyzer. Seems like it's one or the other. But he was very cool after I passed. Gave me directions on how to get home, since this was December 2000 and GPS wasn't mainstream yet.

[csziggy]

13. Since she was witnessed chugging a beer after hitting the child

A Breathalyzer test may not have been accurate.

One of the most common causes of falsely high breath analyzer readings is the existence of mouth alcohol. In analyzing a subject's breath sample, the breath analyzer's internal computer is making the assumption that the alcohol in the breath sample came from alveolar air—that is, air exhaled from deep within the lungs. However, alcohol may have come from the mouth, throat or stomach for a number of reasons.[citation needed] To help guard against mouth-alcohol contamination, certified breath-test operators are trained to observe a test subject carefully for at least 15–20 minutes before administering the test.

The problem with mouth alcohol being analyzed by the breath analyzer is that it was not absorbed through the stomach and intestines and passed through the blood to the lungs. In other words, the machine's computer is mistakenly applying the partition ratio (see above) and multiplying the result. Consequently, a very tiny amount of alcohol from the mouth, throat or stomach can have a significant impact on the breath-alcohol reading.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathalyzer#Mouth_alcohol

[treestar]

7. Tragic

I don't think it qualifies though. Florida Man is usually the one that gets hurt because of his stupidity.

[surrealAmerican]

11. ... not been charged?

That doesn't make sense. Even if they think she might not have been drunk, she could still be charged with reckless driving and attempting to flee an accident.

Maybe she's related to the chief of police or something.