An Urbandale woman was arrested for endangering the lives of two children Monday after her erratic driving led law enforcement to suspect that she was operating while intoxicated.
Betty T-Girl Saypahn, 35, of 4505 86th St., Urbandale, was charged with two counts of child endangerment and issued citations for failure to provide proof of financial liability, reckless driving, failure to display registration plate, violation of instruction permit limitation and two counts of failure to use child restraint device.
The incident began about 7:15 p.m. Monday in the 24000 block of W Avenue in rural Grimes, where a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff responded to a report of an erratic driver.
The deputy observed the 2013 Chevrolet Impala “drift to the fog line and then to the center line before the car passed over the center lines into the wrong side of the highway,” where there was “a car approaching in the opposite lane,” according to court records.
The deputy initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Saypahn.
The deputy also “observed two children in the back seat,” a 4-year-old girl who “was not wearing her seat belt and not in a car seat” and a 4-month-old infant who “was not strapped into the car seat, and the car seat was not secured in the vehicle,” according to court records.
Saypahn allegedly presented with “watery, jaundiced eyes” and “slowed speech,” and she “was unclear where she was coming from and going,” according to court records.
The deputy administered standard field sobriety tests, and Saypahn allegedly “showed significant impairment,” according to court records. A second deputy “performed further ARIDE testing (Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement), which also showed significant impairment.”
Once at the jail, Saypahn consented to a breath sample, which showed a 0.00%, according to court records. A drug-recognition expert performed an evaluation of Saypahn, who consented to providing a urine sample.
Saypahn is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond in advance of an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
