Mulberry, Florida – On September 19, 2018 at approximately 11:07pm , Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the area of 4125 Sundance Place Loop Mulberry Florida for a reported intoxicated driver as the result of a motor vehicle crash. When deputies arrived they found a vehicle was partially submerged in a retention pond. During the crash investigation, it was determined that a white female operator was operating the vehicle with a child in the front
passenger seat of the vehicle. The operator appeared to be intoxicated and for unknown reasons drove her
vehicle through the end of a cul-de-sac into a retention pond. The eight-year-old was able to remove herself from the flooding vehicle and go to a nearby residence to get help. Upon the residents exiting their home to help and dialing 911 the female operator opened the driver side door, exited, and came to shore. Upon contact with the operator deputies allegedly detected indicators that led them to believe the operator was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
The operator of that vehicle was identified as 33 yr old, Michelle Lynn Snover, of Lakeland. Here is an excerpt from the arrest affidavit:
I observed Snover’s eyes to be bloodshot, watery and her eyelids to be droopy. Her face pale and cheeks were red. As she spoke, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was coming from her breath and person. While speaking to Snover she was slow to respond to my questions, her speech was slurred, mumbled, mush mouthed, and hard to understand at times. She would stutter and repeatedly told me that she parked her truck and got to the retention pond by Uber. When I asked her if she parked her truck in the retention pond she stated yes and said she was just here to” meet some guy”. Her responses were confusing and she would not make sense with what she was saying. When I asked her if she came from a house party around the corner and was trying to driver home she stated, “I am sorry, I am not a bad person.
Two Paramedics were standing with Snover assisting her while she stood. They would place their arms on the back of her arms and back as she swayed in a circular pattern at times to the point she would almost fall. Each time they would keep her from falling she would say I am all right, I got this.
Snover failed a field sobriety test on scene and her breath alcohol level was recorded at 0.13; the legal limit is 0.08. Snover was charged with DUI, damage of property and negligent child abuse without bodily harm.
This was not the first time Snover, who is a nurse, has been arrested for DUI. She was arrested in 2016 and just recently finished 9 months of probation for those charges on 5/22/2018.
