A New York mother was arrested and charged for driving under the influence of alcohol with five children, including her own, in the car. Suzanne Kristofferson of Putnam Valley was arrested shortly after 12:30 am as she was driving home from a festival.
Kristofferson, 39, admitted to CBS 2 that she had been drinking but that she’s “furious” that she’s been “put up as a common criminal” as a result of her actions. She also told CBS 2 that she had no other choice than to get behind the wheel.
“Yes, I had a couple beers in me because I was at a festival, no I shouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel,” she said. “I had no money for a cab because I spent all my money on my children so they could have a good time that night.”
She continued, “Nobody knows the circumstances of what happened. My husband was 10 times drunker than I was. I had two kids left with me that weren’t even mine that I had no intention of driving home in the first place. It was either let my husband drive and kill everybody or leave those two kids abandoned.”
Kristofferson was pulled over after an officer noticed that one of her headlights was out. When the officer began talking to her, he smelled alcohol on her and saw five children in the backseat ranging from 9 to 15 years of age. Kristofferson then failed several field sobriety tests in front of her children and their friends.
Her blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit and she was arrested for driving while intoxicated and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She claims the charges are criminal. “It was the fact that it was either let me drive or someone else who was drunker,” she said as she slammed her front door on the CBS 2 reporter.
If found guilty, Kristofferson faces up to a year in jail or up to a $1,000 fine for each charge. She is due back in court next week.