A Bradenton mother is accused of driving drunk after troopers say she collided with a wall on the Howard Frankland Bridge and fled with a toddler in the backseat.
The backstory: According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a bystander called soon after 4:30 p.m. on Thursday to report that a woman was sick and throwing up in a black Chevy Traverse on I-275 between Westshore Blvd. and Lois Ave.
When the trooper arrived on the scene, he was notified by a Tampa Fire Rescue first responder that there was no medical emergency. According to FHP, the initial responder stated that Holly Lynn Ross was inebriated.
The trooper, who spotted a 3-year-old boy in Ross’s vehicle, smelled alcohol on her breath and ordered Ross to complete several sobriety tests, which she failed. She was subsequently arrested.
The Department of Children and Families was notified since a child was in the vehicle at the time of the occurrence.
After placing Ross in a patrol cruiser, the trooper reported that Tampa Fire Rescue discovered a purple children’s sports drink bottle containing alcohol in Ross’s vehicle.
Dig deeper: According to the trooper, Ross began having mood swings and cursing at a deputy and jail officials after he was transferred to the Hillsborough County Jail’s Central Breath Testing Center.
After 20 minutes, Ross provided two breath samples of .303 and .301, which are nearly four times Florida’s legal limit.
Troopers later determined that they suspected Ross’s vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run accident on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
According to FHP, a witness said that a car with the same tag as Ross’s was constantly pulling over to the shoulder, colliding with a wall, and coming to rest on the right shoulder.
Ross was charged with DUI, child abuse, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
