A woman who claimed she’d just put her dog down and “wanted to get home” was arrested on a drunk driving charge after allegedly leaving the scene of a crash.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies were called shortly before 4 p.m. Monday after receiving a report of a vehicle being driven recklessly on Picciola Road. The vehicle struck a yellow sign and then ran into a fence.
Leesburg police had also received a report of a vehicle that left a veterinarian’s office and drove over a median.
The vehicle, driven by 54-year-old Yvonne Claire Hart, was stopped in her own driveway at 5039 Mockingbird Lane in Fruitland Park. The front end of the vehicle had “significant” front-end damage.
Hart told police that she had to take her dog to the emergency vet to be put down. Hart said she was “emotional” and looked down for a minute before the crash occurred. She admitted she knew it was illegal to leave the scene of a crash, but she “just wanted to get home.”
She was unsteady on her feet and crying, the arrest report indicated.
She failed field sobriety exercises and provided breath samples that registered .175 and .176 blood alcohol content.
Hart admitted she drank a small bottle of Fireball whiskey before taking her dog to the vet. She said she had another drink while at the veterinarian’s office. She said she had also taken a prescription Ambien.
She was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and hit and run.
She was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,500 bond.
