TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg woman was arrested early Tuesday morning after troopers said they had to forcibly stop her from wrong-way driving on I-275.
According to arrest affidavits, Cynthia Elizabeth Serrano Roncal, 27, of St. Petersburg was spotted driving north in the southbound lanes of I-275 at about 12:41 a.m.
A trooper dispatched to the interstate pursued Serrano Roncal and tried to pull her over, but the woman kept driving.
The affidavits said the trooper used a a precision immobilization technique, known as a PIT maneuver, to try to stop the vehicle, but the driver still kept fleeing the patrol vehicle, even after it swerved out of the roadway.
After a second PIT maneuver, Serrano Roncal finally stopped. According to the arrest records, Serrano Roncal had slurred speech, watery eyes, and an alcoholic odor on her breath.
Troopers said she also blew a breath alcohol sample of 0.21 and 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit.
Serrano Roncal was charged with driving under the influence (blood alcohol level .15 or greater), fleeing and eluding, and resisting an officer without violence.