A Clermont woman was arrested for DUI when her incoherent order at the Taco Bell drive-thru made an employee suspicious about her sobriety.
An employee of Taco Bell, located at 1606 Hammock Ridge Road, saw 24-year-old Ashly Jazmin Carlos pull up to the drive-thru kiosk around 1:55 a.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Clermont Police Department.
She slurred her speech and choked up at times during the five minutes it took her just to place her order. She seemed very incoherent, and the employee’s suspicion only grew when she drove up to the pickup window where he could see her more clearly. He told her to pull into a parking space to wait for her food, but she instead went through the drive-thru a second time, the report said.
When an officer responded to the restaurant, he saw a black Honda passenger car going around the drive-thru and followed behind it. He watched as Carlos, the driver, stopped at the take-out window despite no employees standing there. He then got out of his patrol vehicle to speak with Carlos and the female passenger beside her, the report said.
Carlos appeared to struggle when asked for her license, insurance and registration, and she seemed unsure of the documents she handed over. She repeatedly questioned the reason for the stop, saying she was “just here to pick up food.” The officer asked where she was coming from, and she stated she was a U.S. citizen born in the United States, the report said.
During their conversation, Carlos continued to slur her speech and had difficulty answering basic questions about her travels. She was subsequently told to put her vehicle in park, switch it off and step out. As she did so, the officer noticed the strong smell of alcohol coming from her breath, the report said.
She also agreed to participate in field sobriety exercises but swayed from side to side when she walked. The exercises took a lot of time to finish because she did not comprehend the instructions despite them being thoroughly explained and demonstrated multiple times. This behavior, along with losing her balance several times, led the offer to conclude she was under the influence. She later provided breath samples of 0.191g/210L and 0.195g/210L, the report said.
Carlos was arrested on charge of DUI and transported to Lake County Jail. She was released after posting $1,000 bond.