Manatee County sheriff’s deputies arrested Elizabeth McBride, 38, of Bradenton, for allegedly driving her truck under the influence of alcohol and colliding with another vehicle Feb. 1 in Bradenton Beach.
Bradenton Beach police were first to the scene.
According to the BBPD report, McBride’s truck was in the middle of the road in the 1400 block of Gulf Drive South and nearly missing its left tire, while the Jeep she collided with was about 150 feet away.
At the scene, the BBPD officer observed a woman yelling into the truck at McBride to stop and turn the engine off and then observed McBride behind the wheel of the truck with blood on her hand and face.
McBride was struggling to communicate with the officer, according to the report. When the officer told her to turn the vehicle off, she instead repeatedly attempted to pull the truck forward. The officer reached into the truck cabin and killed the engine.
When McBride exited the vehicle, the officer and his partner smelled alcohol on her person and in the truck, according to the report. The officers asked the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to send a traffic unit to assist with the investigation.
While awaiting the MCSO, the witness told the officer she and McBride were headed in separate cars to a cleaning job on Longboat Key when she saw McBride’s truck veer into oncoming traffic and collide with the Jeep.
When the MCSO deputies arrived and tested McBride, she registered 0.142 and 0.133 grams of ethanol per deciliter of blood in two breath blood/alcohol level tests.
In Florida, the legal blood/alcohol content limit for driving under the influence is 0.08.
McBride was arrested for misdemeanor DUI and transferred to the Manatee County jail.
The Jeep’s two occupants waited for the vehicle to be towed before leaving the scene. Neither required medical attention.
McBride was released from jail Feb. 1 after posting a $500 bail bond.
McBride is slated for a hearing at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
— Kane Kaiman
