Florida police got innovative Saturday night when they received word a drunk driver was broadcasting her escapade via a live streaming app.
Whitney Marie Beall, 23, was arrested after using Periscope to belligerently ask viewers for directions. "I'm driving home drunk...I am really drunk," Beall said in the video, which can be found below. "This is horrible guys. I'm driving home drunk. Let's see if I get a DUI. I don't think I will," repeating several times that she was intoxicated and had a flat tire.
"I am f---ing drunk," Beall said at one point in the broadcast.
According to Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV, numerous users texted the woman advising her to stop while others immediately notified Lakeland police. Unfortunately for local law enforcement, department systems are blocked from using the Twitter-owned streaming platform on their smartphones. One officer has a personal account and was able to track Beall to a specific neighborhood.
Beall's 2015 Toyota Corolla was found on Carpenters Way, where she sped onto a curb as a police officer approached. A Lakeland Police Department statement posted to Facebook said that Beall's "speech was slow; her eyes were bloodshot and glossy." She was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and refusing to take a Breathalyzer test.
"The streaming Periscope video highlights the dangers of driving while intoxicated through the eyes of a drunk and irresponsible young adult," the statement read.