Woman faces DUI charge after crashing at Publix with child in car, police say

Publix worker stopped mother leaving his shift

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A woman is facing a DUI charge after crashing into a car at an Altamonte Springs Publix parking lot.

Altamonte Springs Police say it was a Publix worker who notified officers about the incident.

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The worker told officers he was walking through the parking lot around 3:45 p.m. Sunday when he noticed a Dodge Charger backing out of a parking spot near the Publix Liquor entrance and hit another vehicle.

The witness said he saw the vehicle continue to pull out and start to leave the scene, according to an arrest report.

He told officers he tapped on the driverside window and confronted the driver, Kristina Thompson. He told her she was involved in a crash, police say.

Thompson told the witness she knew, but there was no damage. She tried to leave again but the witness told her she needed to tell Publix management or leave a note on the car. Thompson then stumbled out of her vehicle and almost fell to the ground, according to the arrest report. The witness then called 911 with the belief that Thompson was intoxicated.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Thompson sitting in the passenger seat and could immediately smell alcohol coming from the vehicle. When an officer asked the 46-year-old to get out of the car, they said they could smell alcohol in her breath, according to the arrest report.

Thompson told officers she only had one or two glasses of wine that day.

Officers then asked Thompson to perform a series of field sobriety exercises and she did not pass any, according to police.

Thompson now faces DUI and child neglect charges. She’s being held in the Seminole County Jail.