A 27-year-old House Springs woman was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated following a minor accident outside the Steak ‘n Shake in Arnold. The woman had three children in the car at the time, Arnold Police reported.
Officers were called just before midnight Aug. 22 to the restaurant, 120 Arnold Crossroads Center, and an employee told them someone driving a 2003 Buick Century had backed into another vehicle in the drive-thru line before driving away from the restaurant, the report said.
The driver of the vehicle the Buick struck said there was no damage to his vehicle and he did not want to pursue charges. The woman who was driving the Buick also had left her debit card and food order at the drive-thru window, according to the report.
Officers saw the Buick on Arnold Crossroads Center towards Jeffco Boulevard and began to follow it. Then, the Buick driver stopped in the middle of the road and began to back up towards Steak ‘n Shake before stopping again and turning into the nearby Wendy’s restaurant, 989 Jeffco Blvd., Arnold Police reported.
The Buick driver parked across two parking spaces outside Wendy’s, and the driver and a male passenger got of the car. They were ordered to get back into the Buick, which they did, but they also allegedly yelled at the officers, the report said.
The driver appeared intoxicated, but she told the officer she had not been drinking. However, she said she had taken prescription drugs, Arnold Police reported.
The woman also allegedly said the car behind her in the drive-thru had rear-ended her car and that was why she drove away. She also denied backing up on Arnold Crossroads Center before pulling into the Wendy’s parking lot, and she told police she needed to leave because she had children who needed to get home, the report said.
The officers found two children, ages 5 and 6, sleeping in the back seat of the Buick, and neither were wearing seat belts. In addition, a 2-year-old was in the Buick in a child seat but was not properly secured in the seat, according to the report.
The woman was arrested and taken to the Police Station. The male passenger, who is the woman’s husband and children’s father, was not allowed to drive the Buick because he allegedly registered a .129 percent blood-alcohol content, the report said. In Missouri, .08 percent is the legal limit.
The driver’s father came to the restaurant and drove the children and male passenger home, the report said.
At the Police Station, the woman allegedly registered a .090 percent blood-alcohol content. She was booked and released to a sober drive, according to the report.
Arnold Police will seek charges against the woman for DWI, driving while not wearing a seat belt, driving with improper insurance, endangering the welfare of children and violating child restraint laws, Detective Lt. Jason Valentine said.
Valentine said the case also has been forwarded to the Department of Family Services.