Florida woman Periscopes drunk driving spree, gets arrested
Several people watched as the 23-year-old woman slurred her speech in a video on her Periscope account as she narrated her drive through Lakeland, Florida.
A Florida woman is facing drunk driving charges and her own phone is the star witness.
Several people watched as Whitney Marie Beall, 23, slurred her speech in a video on her Periscope account as she narrated her drive through Lakeland. Beall recorded several videos, further incriminating herself with titles like "Drunk girl driving."
"I'm driving home drunk. Let's see if I get a DUI," Beall said in one video.
Dozens of Periscope users watched her videos, some sending messages telling her to stop driving.
"I have not been arrested yet and I really don't hope so," Beall said during one video in a response to a comment.
Two people called 911, but were unable to provide many details about Beall's location or vehicle, though she occasionally shouted out street names. While Lakeland Police says officers are not authorized to download Periscope on their work phones, one officer viewed Beall's videos on their personal account to try to locate the driver.
By identifying landmarks on the video stream and following Beall's clues, police tracked her down and pulled her over as she struck a curb.
Police say Beall smelled of alcohol, appeared disoriented and failed a field sobriety test. After refusing a breathalyzer test, Beall was arrested for driving under the influence.
"The streaming Periscope video highlights the dangers of driving while intoxicated through the eyes of a drunk and irresponsible young adult. The Lakeland Police Department is extremely thankful that this did not result in an accident and no one was injured as a result of her poor decision," the police department wrote in a release.
