Riverside Police: Woman Was Drunk While Picking Up Child From School
(CBS) – A 52-year-old motorist was charged with a felony earlier this week after she picked up a child from a Riverside school with nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in her system, police say.
The arrest of Vladka Linda Sova occurred Wednesday afternoon after she picked up a 13-year-old, the Riverside Police Department said in a news release. A 9-1-1 caller alerted police about an erratic driver, and a responding officer found the reported vehicle parked nearby in an unusual manner.
"It was parked over both the white and solid yellow lines occupying two spots in the parking lot," police said.
The driver displayed signs of "severe alcohol intoxication" and blew a .262 – three times the legal limit -- when administered a blood-alcohol test, police said.
Police learned the 13-year-old passenger had been worried about the motorist's driving and was texting relatives.
Sova, of Brookfield, was charged with one count of felony drunken driving and one count of misdemeanor driving. The felony charge was triggered because she had a minor in her vehicle while allegedly driving drunk.
"I am very thankful that an alert citizen contacted the police to report this drunk driver. Unbelievably, she drove to the school drunk, drove through the pickup area, picked up her child and continued to drive east on East Burlington Street. I am also thankful that no one was injured in the crowded dismissal area," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said.
