23-year-old Whitney Beall was arrested over the weekend in Lakeland, Florida after she used Twitter’s video feed app – Periscope, to live stream herself driving drunk.
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Lakeland police said that’s when one of those watching her on Periscope called 911.
Whitney Beall, 23, of Lakeland, Florida, allegedly broadcast herself on Periscope as she drove drunk. Beall refused a breathalyzer and failed field sobriety tests, police said.
Beall was arrested and taken to Polk County Jail. An officer was able to log onto the service and figure out where Beall’s vehicle was, and police tracked her down.
Driving under the influence is a bad idea.
“You hear her saying she’s drunk”, said Sgt. Gary Gross, Lakeland Police spokesman. Beall was found driving a 4-door Toyota Camry with a flat left front tire.
Officers eventually located a woman driving east on Carpenters Way.
Investigators said Beall hit a curb as an officer initiated a traffic stop, and she did not hit the brakes after striking the curb.
Lakeland Police say that’s when viewers started calling 911.
A few of the viewers made fun of her in messages that popped up during the Periscope stream, but others showed genuine concern, telling her she should get off the road before there was an accident. She also appeared to be disoriented.
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“The streaming Periscope video highlights the dangers of driving while intoxicated through the eyes of a drunk and irresponsible young adult”, police said in a statement. He also added that the case quite shocked him since after three decades of law enforcement he had never seen anything like it before.
