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Lakeland woman charged with DUI after driving into pond with child, deputies say

Michelle Lynn Snover, 33, was arrested Wednesday on charges of DUI and property damage, and negligent child abuse without bodily harm.
The woman said she parked the SUV in the retention pond.

A Lakeland woman who drove into a retention pond with an 8-year-old girl in the passenger seat was charged with DUI, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Michelle Lynn Snover, 33, was arrested Wednesday on DUI and property damage charges, and negligent child abuse without bodily harm.

Around 11 p.m., deputies were called to the 4100 block of Sundance Place Loop in Mulberry, where they found a partially submerged SUV in the pond. The 8-year-old passenger had managed to get out of the car and go to a nearby house.

The residents called 911, and when they went to help they saw Snover getting out of the driver's side of the vehicle.

The caller describes the driver stumbling and falling into the pond as she made her way to shore. The girl who got out of the vehicle can be heard on the 911 call, crying and asking for help for Snover.

Snover told deputies she had parked the truck in the pond and was there to "meet some guy," deputies said.

A deputy said Snover had bloodshot, watery eyes and her face was flushed. The deputy said she also had the smell of alcohol on her breath.

The deputy conducted field tests, and said she was unsteady during them. A breath test showed she had a blood alcohol content of 0.138, above the legal limit of 0.08.

At the scene, Snover said she had consumed three beers. After being told the results of her breath test, she said she had three to four vodka fruit punch drinks, deputies said.

According to Polk County jail records, Snover was also arrested in 2016 on a DUI charge.

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