Dashcam video released after former teacher arrested on DUI charge

Colleen Loughman, 43, accused of drunken driving with toddler asleep in backseat

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ Dashcam video has been released by the Florida Highway Patrol in the arrest of a South Florida woman accused of driving drunk on Interstate 95 with her toddler asleep in the backseat.

"Please don't arrest me! Please!" Colleen Loughman, 43, of Boynton Beach, is heard screaming in the video.

According to an FHP report, Loughman'sĀ red Kia Sorento was stopped in the northbound emergency lane of I-95 in Fort Lauderdale late Saturday night when a trooper stopped to see if she needed assistance.

The trooper approached the SUV and foundĀ Loughman sitting in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition and her 2-year-old son sleeping in his child seat in the back. The SUV was also missing its right front tire, and the rim was severely damaged.

According to the report, the trooper asked if she was OK, and Loughman said that she was trying to get home. The trooper wrote in the report that Loughman's breath smelled of alcohol, and her speech was slurred.

"I'm going to call CNN," Loughman yells at the trooper.

Loughman, a former middle school teacher who taught in Broward and Palm Beach counties, drove several miles without one of her tires, troopers said.

At times in the video it appears as it Loughman thinks the whole incident is a joke, and she even poses for the dashcam at one point.

But as reality starts to set in, Loughman begs the trooper for mercy.

"Please! Please! I'm a teacher. I can't get arrested," she said.

According to the affidavit, Loughman had bloodshot and glossy eyes. Troopers said her appearance was very disheveled and her front zipper was also down.

According to the report, the interior of the vehicle was also messy with paperwork, open food and yogurt poured all over.

Loughman was released from jail Monday after posting bond and refused to speak to Local 10 News.

"Please leave me alone," Loughman repeated as she covered her face and walked away.

The report said Loughman admitted to drinking two beers and taking three Xanax pills and a Zoloft pill before getting behind the wheel of her SUV.

Court records show that Loughman was arrested on a DUI charge in 2009 in Palm Beach County.

Her son is now living with his father.


About the Authors

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

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