HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Bradenton woman was arrested after deputies say she was driving under the influence with a 3-year-old in her car on Thursday.
The Florida Highway Patrol said they received a call from a bystander that the woman was throwing up in a black Chevy Traverse on I-275. A trooper responded to the scene around 4:30 p.m. and saw the Chevy had flat tires on the left side.
Tampa Fire Rescue was at the scene by the time the trooper arrived, who told FHP that the woman, identified as Holly Lynn Ross, was not suffering a medical emergency but had been drinking alcohol.
According to an arrest affidavit, when the trooper approached Ross, she smelled like alcohol and had watery eyes. The trooper also noticed the child sitting in the rear seat.
FHP launched a DUI investigation and found that when Ross was asked to walk to the trooper's patrol vehicle, she was having a hard time standing and walking. She also said she had no medical issues.
When she failed multiple sobriety tests, Ross was arrested at 4:48 p.m. Tampa Fire Rescue told the trooper that there was alcohol found in a children's sports drink bottle in the front of the vehicle. The Department of Children and Families was contacted for the 4-year-old.
A second trooper stayed at the scene while Ross was taken to Hillsborough County Jail, where the affidavit states she began to yell and curse at the jail staff.
Later on, FHP said they learned from a witness that Ross was involved in a collision on the Howard Frankland Bridge. According to the witness, Ross' Chevy was pulling over to the shoulder repeatedly and struck the wall before it came to a rest.
Ross was charged with DUI and child neglect.
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