Winter Haven Mom Charged With Driving Drunk With 5 Kids In Car

WINTER HAVEN, FL -- A Winter Haven mother is behind bars charged with DUI and five counts of negligent child abuse after she was involved in a traffic crash with her young children unrestrained in the car.

According to the Winter Haven Police Department, on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 6:11 p.m., officers responded to a crash at 5th Street Northwest and Avenue L Northwest in Winter Haven.

Twenty-eight year-old Shawana Jones was driving one of three vehicles involved in the crash. She told officers that traffic in front of her suddenly stopped and she couldn't brake in time.

When officers started interviewing Jones, they noticed the smell of alcohol on her breath and performed field sobriety tests, which she failed. When the breathalyzer test was conducted, she blew a .177, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Officers also inquired why four of the five young children, ranging in age from 4 months to 5 years old were unrestrained in the vehicle. She told officers that she was working with a local shelter to obtain child restraint devices, however, she had only obtained one.

All five children were taken by ambulance to Winter Haven Hospital with minor injuries. Jones was not injured and did not require medical treatment.

When the children were medically cleared, they were all turned over to the Department of Children and Families since no other legal guardian could be located at the time.

Jones was booked into the Polk County Jail on Driving Under the Influence and five counts of negligent child abuse. She was also issued six traffic citations for failing to restrain four children property, careless driving and failure to provide proof of registration.

"There is absolutely no excuse for someone, especially a mother, to put the lives of children in danger like Jones did," said Public Safety Director Charlie Bird. "It's bad enough when someone chooses to drive under the influence, but involving five very small children and not having proper restraints is inexcusable. We are grateful that the children only received minor injuries and nobody else was hurt."

Image via Winter Haven Police

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