A parked Honda sedan in Daytona Beach, Florida, was minding its own business when a newer Ford Bronco came across the roadway and slammed into it, shoving the parked car sideways.
Video released by Daytona Beach Police captures the collision and the police encounter that followed. Police identified the Bronco’s driver as Elizabeth Pearl Boucher, 24, of Daytona Beach.
Boucher acknowledges hitting the other vehicle when an officer asks what happened, although she seems considerably less certain about how the collision occurred.
“I hit the front light of their car, but I don’t know what really happened,” Boucher says.
The officer has a much firmer description. “You just hit the front of the car,” he tells her. “You just took the car completely up.”
Changing Hats
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“This is the part of the investigation that is called the change of the hat,” an officer tells Boucher, explaining that they are going from a civil investigation to a criminal investigation of driving under the influence.
He advises Boucher of her rights and asks whether she is willing to continue speaking with him. She declines.
Next come the sobriety exercises.
“Nope. No exercises,” Boucher says.
She starts walking away. An officer quickly stops her.
“Just because you don’t want to talk to us doesn’t mean we’re done with our investigation,” he tells her.
Boucher later refuses a requested DUI test. During the encounter, she also pleads with officers not to take her to jail.
“Please don’t take me to jail for this,” she says.
By the end of the video, officers are taking her into custody. Boucher asks whether she is going to jail.
“Yes,” an officer replies.
Saying No
Boucher declines the roadside sobriety exercises and starts to walk away. The officer stops her and continues the investigation.
Under Florida’s implied-consent law, refusing a qualifying chemical test can mean losing a driver’s license for one year on a first refusal and 18 months for certain subsequent refusals. The refusal can also be used as evidence.
A first refusal of a lawful breath or urine test can be charged as a second-degree misdemeanor, while a qualifying subsequent refusal can be charged as a first-degree misdemeanor.
Boucher was charged with refusal to submit to DUI testing. Volusia County inmate records also list DUI involving alcohol or drugs, DUI with damage to the property or person of another, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, resisting an officer without violence, and battery listed as “touch or strike.”
Boucher is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.