The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says the suspected driver showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests.
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla — A woman is facing hit-and-run and DUI charges after deputies say she left a pedestrian lying on the road after hitting them in St. Pete Beach.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said this happened after 9 p.m. Wednesday when they found a 56-year-old pedestrian lying along the southbound curb of Gulf Boulevard and 44th Avenue.
Deputies determined they had life-threatening injuries that were consistent with being hit by a vehicle seen driving on Gulf Boulevard and leaving pieces of debris on the road.
PCSO later found the vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade, in a hotel parking lot in Tierra Verde. The driver was identified as 43-year-old Margaret Gardner.
Officials say Gardner showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests.
Gardner was arrested and charged with DUI, refusal to submit to testing and leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury. She was taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
The 56-year-old is in the hospital in critical condition.