Dad passes out drunk in car picking up kids from elementary school, Arizona cops say

A father passed out behind the wheel of his car while in line to pick up his children from an elementary school, Arizona police said.

Officers responded to a report of a parent unconscious in a vehicle at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Mesa at around 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, according to an arrest affidavit from the Mesa Police Department. Mesa is about 20 miles east of Phoenix.

When officers arrived, they saw the 35-year-old man attempting to get into the passenger seat of the car, the report says. His 3-year-old and 4-year-old children were inside the vehicle in their car seats.

Officers saw an open bottle of Twisted Tea in the driver’s side cup holder, the report says.

The man smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes, according to the report.

The man later told officers that he’d had “a shot of fireball and a Twisted Tea” before going to pick up his kids, the report says.

A breath test showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.218, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to police.

He faces two counts of aggravated driving under the influence with a person under 15 in the vehicle, the report says.

The sheriff’s office did not provide information on whether he remained in custody or had been released on bond.

This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Dad passes out drunk in car picking up kids from elementary school, Arizona cops say."