A Florida woman who live streamed herself driving drunk was charged with DUI after authorities used social media to track her down as she rambled on through the night.
Lakeland Police found Whitney Marie Beall, 23, disoriented and with blood shot eyes when they pulled her over on Saturday, according to the
Tampa Tribune. Police were alerted to Beall when they received 911 calls after Beall started broadcasting herself on the social media app Periscope, a live video streaming platform.
(Warning: Video below contains crude language.)
"You hear her saying she's drunk (on the video stream)," Lakeland Police Sgt. Gary Gross told
WTSP-TV. "I got to tell you I was a little shocked. After 30 years of law enforcement I hadn't seen anything like this before."
Since Lakeland Police don't have Periscope as an authorized software app, they couldn't monitor Beall's actions but one officer downloaded it on his own personal account.
"They're like what's Periscope?" said Gross. "Luckily, one of our younger officers was able to figure it out."
Beall said several times on the video that she was drunk, had a flat tire and couldn't figure out where she was. The video was turned off several times, making it more difficult for officers to locate her.
Police used landmarks in the area they identified in the video to find Beall in a 2015 Toyota Corolla, with a flat left front tire, said the Tribune. Authorities said she smelled of alcohol and refused a breath test to find out her blood-alcohol content.
Beall was taken to the Polk County Jail where she was charged with DUI.
According to
WFLA-TV, on Monday Beall said she made a "big mistake" and has learned her lesson.
"She is a young professional with a bright future," said Beall's attorney Lee Cohen.
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