A Fruitland Park woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after running a stop sign at an intersection and cutting into the southbound lane.
An officer observed the driver of a white Toyota, later identified as 30-year-old Ashley Elizabeth Abbott, run a stop sign at the intersection of Thomas and MLK Boulevard around 2:11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. He watched the vehicle cut into the southbound lane of traffic several times while traveling on County Road 25A.
Seeing this, the officer initiated a traffic stop using his overhead emergency lights in the area of County Road 25A just south of Palm Street. The vehicle responded by stopping in the middle of the road before eventually pulling off the roadway, the report said.
The officer approached Abbott and noticed the odor of alcoholic beverage coming from her breath, made stronger as she spoke. Due to this observation, he asked her to step out of the vehicle to participate in field sobriety exercises. She agreed to do them, but her performance, including slurred speech, unsteady coordination and poor listening, led the officer to conclude that she was under the influence, the report said.
Abbott was subsequently placed under arrest and taken to Lake County Jail for the booking process. She refused to take a breath test even after being warned of the consequences. The report noted she had a prior guilty DUI charge which included property damage and personal damage from Aug. 26, 2014.
Abbott was charged with DUI (second offense) but was released from jail after posting $2,000 bond.