24.10.07

Son called 911 to report mom's driving

Article Date 10/23/2007
United Press Int'l | Health News

Son called 911 to report mom's driving

VANCOUVER, Wash., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A Vancouver, Wash., woman whose 8-year-old son phoned police because he was frightened by his mother's driving was charged with driving under the influence.

Paulette Lynn Spears pleaded innocent Monday to driving under the influence of intoxicants, fourth-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment, The Vancouver Columbian reported Tuesday.

The assault charge stems from allegations that she bit her son to hang up the phone while he was speaking with a 911 dispatcher, the newspaper said.

"I don't know if she knows where she's going," the boy told a dispatcher. "I'm 8 years old, and my sister is 5 years old and she's in the car, too."

The boy made a second 911 call after his mother forced him to hang up the phone.

Clark County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erin Culver told the Columbian deputies that intercepted Spears' car said she had "red, watery eyes," a "blank stare" and an odor of alcohol. She refused a breath test but admitted to having "some beers."

Spears could face one year in jail if convicted. She is due back in court Nov. 14, and bail was set at $10,000.

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