St. Petersburg Woman Faces Fourth DUI Charge

According to St. Petersburg police, 22-year-old Colleen Ludlow was driving drunk last week when she allegedly caused a three-car accident which injured an elderly woman. The incident marks the fourth time Ludlow has faced DUI charges.

Ludlow was charged with driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, child abuse, driving with a suspended or revoked license in a wreck causing injury, and refusing to submit to a breath test. The accident left 81-year-old Hyacinth Capeheart with a broken neck and back, according to law enforcement.

The child abuse charge is apparently related to the fact that Ludlow’s 2-year-old daughter was in the car with her. Under Florida law, neglect of a child may be based on repeated conduct or on a single incident that could reasonably be expected to result in serious physical injury, or a substantial risk of death, to a child (if that incident is a violation of a caregiver’s duty to provide adequate care to maintain the child’s health).

According to police reports, Ludlow was driving west on 22nd Avenue in St. Petersburg when her car struck a curb, then hit a Nissan that was stopped at 42nd Street and then struck a Honda on 22nd Avenue. Capehart was driving the Honda. Two occupants of the Nissan were treated at a local hospital and released. Ludlow and her daughter were uninjured.

A St. Petersburg police spokesman said that a half bottle of Skol vodka and two empty Budweiser beer bottles were discovered in Ludlow’s car.

According to court records, Ludlow was first charged with DUI in June 2006. That charge was ultimately reduced to reckless driving. Ludlow was found guilty of DUI in relation to a November 2006 wreck and a January 2007 incident. She apparently participated in in-patient alcohol treatment for 30 days pursuant to court order. She was also sentenced to a work release program and her license was revoked for five years, according to state records.

Ludlow faces felony DUI charges because the collision caused serious injury to Capeheart. She could have faced felony DUI charges even if Capeheart had not been injured though. A third DUI offense within 10 years is considered a felony in the third degree under Florida law. Ludlow faces up to five years in prison on the DUI charge alone.