A North Carolina woman was pulled over and arrested after authorities say she drove more than 100 mph on snow-covered roads while a baby sat “unrestrained” in the back seat.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy stopped the driver on Saturday, Jan. 31, after clocking the vehicle at 103 mph on Highway 70 near Princeton — roughly 40 miles outside Raleigh. Investigators said a 1-year-old was found “unrestrained in a child seat.”
WRAL and WTVD reported the driver was identified as 24-year-old Kierra Taylor of Goldsboro, N.C., and noted the posted speed limit in the area was 55 mph.
Authorities initially reported the driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.22, but court documents obtained by the outlets later showed a roadside test measured her BAC at 0.33.
Family members later arrived to take the child home, the sheriff’s office said.
Taylor was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, speeding, reckless driving-wanton disregard, and misdemeanor child abuse, according to the outlets. She was taken to the Johnston County Detention Center and assigned a secured bond of $2,500.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(745x306:747x308):format(webp)/woman-speeding-over-100-snow-baby-020126-68b03e54e15244da80b9fbda6d5c9e0c.jpg)
In the wake of the incident, the sheriff’s office urged residents to slow down and avoid travel as a rare heavy snow impacted the state.
“During this inclement weather, help keep everyone safe and stay home if possible,” the office wrote.
NBC News reported the storm brought record-setting snowfall to parts of North Carolina, with some areas seeing more than 20 inches. The outlet said totals reached as high as 22.5 inches in some cities, and that Sunday, Feb. 1, ranked as the fourth-largest single-day snowfall and the state’s biggest snow event since 2004.
NBC News also reported that more than 160,000 utility customers across the South were without power Sunday afternoon, including in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(702x336:704x338):format(webp)/snow-plow-north-carolina-020126-26159fb5d87b4dfcb030fbe00defb0ba.jpg)
WCNC reported that Gov. Josh Stein said the weekend weather contributed to more than 1,000 crashes statewide, resulting in two fatalities, and officials urged residents to stay off the roads if possible.
“Please be patient and please stay off the roads unless it’s absolutely necessary,” North Carolina Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson said, per NBC News. “If you do have to drive, slow down and give other cars, our teams and other first responders lots of distance.”
