Woman’s Birthday Celebration Gets Ruined by DUI Arrest

Around 11:00 PM on January 11, 2024, Officer Thomas Baden with the Tampa Police Department observed a 2024 Mazda make an illegal right turn on red from Howard Avenue South onto Platt Street West. He activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, and the driver pulled over in the vicinity of Platt Street West and Albany Avenue South. Officer Parker witnessed the driver of a grey 2020 Jeep exit from the vehicle, and she was identified as 22-year-old Elizabeth Henschen.

As Officer Baden was speaking with Elizabeth, he observed indicators of impairment and detected the odor of alcohol. Elizabeth told Officer Baden that she and her 2 passengers were celebrating her birthday at Luv Child, a restaurant in Tampa. She also admitted to consuming 2 drinks earlier that evening. Based on his suspicion of impairment, Elizabeth was asked to perform field sobriety exercises.

Officer Baden started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Elizabeth did not touch heel-to-toe on each step. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Elizabeth failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion or and did not count in a perfect sequence.

Based on her traffic infraction, her indicators of impairment, the odor of alcohol, her admission to consuming alcohol earlier that evening, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Elizabeth was placed under arrest for driving under the influence. Elizabeth was transported by Officer Baden to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for further processing. At the jail, she agreed to submit to a breath test. Her breath test results indicated BAC levels of 0.068% and 0.073%. She was charged with a DUI (316.193(1)) and eventually released pending her court appearance.
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