Lee County teen faces DUI charges with juveniles hiding in car trunk

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Florida Highway Patrol arrested an 18-year-old woman on DUI charges after troopers found two juveniles hiding in the trunk of her car with an open container of alcohol.

Troopers stopped Katherine Marie Gonzalez around 12:06 a.m. on March 21 after her silver 2022 Kia Sportage failed to stop at a red light at the Colonial Boulevard and SR-82 intersection. The Kia made a wide right turn across all three eastbound lanes and into the left shoulder at a high rate of speed before accelerating to 76 mph, according to FHP.

When troopers approached the vehicle, they noticed Gonzalez was not wearing a seat belt and showed signs of impairment. Troopers then opened the trunk and found two juveniles unbelted, lying down and attempting to hide with an open container of Beatbox. Four more juveniles were in the back seat, none wearing seat belts, while a juvenile in the front passenger seat was the only person buckled up.

Gonzalez initially told troopers she had not consumed alcohol. She later admitted to drinking one Four Loko, then changed her story to include two shots of tequila and a Beatbox, all consumed within the last few hours.

Gonzalez failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. She submitted breath samples that registered .18 and .19, more than twice the legal limit. FHP booked her into the Lee County Jail.

The seven passengers ranged in age from 13 to 18 years old. FHP contacted the parents of the juveniles and the Department of Children and Families.

Gonzalez faces charges including DUI with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher with a person under 18 in the vehicle, reckless driving and culpable negligence exposure to harm.