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Police: Mom Driving With Child Had BAC 4.5 Times Legal Limit

LAKE ORION (WWJ) - Police say a 47-year-old woman who was driving recklessly with her 9-year-old son in the vehicle registered a blood alcohol content nearly five times the legal limit.

"There is a technical legal term called 'super drunk' but that's for a blood alcohol level of 0.17. This case is another story; super, super drunk," said WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton.

The whole situation unfolded around 11:30 a.m. Sunday in Lake Orion, near Perry and Atwater streets. Police say a witness called 911 and reported a reckless driver who had left the roadway, drove over the sidewalk and through a back yard before coming back onto the street. The witness said the driver also almost hit another vehicle head on after crossing over the center line.

Police responded to the area and found the woman's vehicle in a parking lot near M-24 and Atwater Street. When officers approached the vehicle, they reportedly found the woman slumped over the steering wheel, and her son in the back seat. Officers allegedly knocked on the window several times before getting a response from the woman, identified as an Orion Township resident.

The woman, who doesn't have any prior drunk driving arrests, was taken to the hospital before being booked in the Oakland County Jail. Police say her blood alcohol content was 0.36 percent, which is four-and-a-half times the 0.08 legal limit in Michigan. It took her over 19 hours to sober up, according to police.

The woman was released Monday after posting bail. Police say the child's father took custody of the boy.

Langton said the woman, whose name was not released, is now facing child endangerment charges on top of a drunk driving charge.

"Child Protective Services more than likely will investigate this case. She has a lot of legal problems ahead of her," he said.

Police say the case has been submitted to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for review.

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