A woman who was talking on her cell phone was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence on Thanksgiving by Leesburg police.
A police officer observed a car moving at a high speed in a 45-mile per hour speed zone at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday. When the officer activated his LIDAR, it detected the speed of the car to be 58 mph. The officer activated his emergency lights in an attempt to get the suspect car to pull over. The driver did not pull over until the officer activated his siren. The car finally pulled into a parking lot at 747 North 14th Street.
When the officer made contact with the driver, she produced a Florida driver’s license that identified her as 38-year-old Fadia Salem who resides in Davenport, Fla. When questioned about her speed, Salem told the officer that “she was on her cell phone and was not paying attention to the roadway,” according to the arrest report. When she handed the officer her license she said it was valid until September. The officer examined the woman’s license and saw that it expired in September of this year so he asked her what month this was. She said that this was September. She acknowledged her error when the officer told her that it was November.
While speaking with Salem, the officer could smell strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle.
She struggled through field sobriety exercises and declined to take a portable breathalyzer test. She pulled away form the officer when he placed her under arrest. She was taken to the Lake County Jail where she took a breathalyzer test which showed a blood alcohol level of .050 and .045 blood alcohol content.
The Israeli native was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $2,000. She is facing charges of driving under the influence and resisting arrest.
