A Florida DUI arrest took an unusually emotional turn.
A woman accused of driving drunk in Daytona Beach allegedly broke down in tears after police say she crashed into a parked car, struck the vehicle’s owner and then protested her arrest by insisting she believed they “were all friends.”
Elizabeth Boucher, 24, is suspected of driving under the influence in connection with an Aug. 30 crash in Daytona Beach, Florida, according to Daytona Beach police.
“Please don’t take me to jail over this,” Boucher cried, according to police. “I thought we were all friends.”
Police said home surveillance video captured the allegedly intoxicated driver taking her Ford Bronco through a roundabout before slamming into the victim’s parked Honda outside a residence.
The impact appeared to send glass flying as Boucher’s customized Bronco shoved the smaller sedan across the front lawn, authorities said.
Even after the crash brought the Bronco to a stop, Boucher allegedly continued pressing the accelerator, causing the rear tires to spin and kick up dirt, according to police.
The Honda’s owner was not inside the vehicle when it was hit. After a neighbor alerted her to the crash, she ran outside to see the damage, and police said the encounter escalated into a physical altercation.
“She came at me and she was like in my face. She smacked me right here,” the unidentified woman said, showing police officers where she was hit.
The woman allegedly struck Boucher back, sending the driver falling to the ground, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Boucher is accused of following the woman back to her front door where she was shoved again before police arrived.
Boucher, who was wearing a black bra and leggings, had shown signs of intoxication from the moment officers arrived.
She had “difficulty standing” and handed one cop a passport instead of the requested driver’s license.
When asked again for her license, Boucher allegedly handed over her purse before saying “she was hot” as she tried to get into a police car, the outlet reported.
The alleged driver also pleaded to cops that she was “never going to get pulled over again” but “appeared surprised” when she was told she was in a car crash and in fact not at a traffic stop.
She also didn’t seem aware of where she was and gave a vague recollection of the crash when asked.
“I guess I hit the front right of their car,” Boucher whined to the officer. “But I don’t know what really happened.”
Police officers didn’t buy Boucher’s explanation, saying her story was way off.
“You didn’t just hit the front of the car, you took the car completely off,” the officer told Boucher.
Officers investigating the crash shared the devastating news with Boucher that they suspected she was under the influence and in no condition to drive a car and were most likely going to arrest her.
The alleged drunk driver became uncooperative with the officers when they asked her if she would “submit to a sobriety exercise,” telling them “no” before trying to walk off.
The cops grabbed Boucher and handcuffed her, keeping her close by as she continued to refuse any tests, including giving a breath sample.
Boucher claimed she was a mother and needed to get her child something before the crash.
“I’m not resisting arrest; I just wanna make sure my daughter gets what she needs,” the handcuffed Boucher said, according to the video, without further context.
Boucher was charged with resisting arrest without violence, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, touch or strike, refusal to submit to DUI testing, DUI, and DUI damage of property.
She was booked and released from jail on Aug. 31.
Boucher is expected to appear back in court on Oct. 21.
