A mother arrested and charged with drunk driving early Monday morning while driving five children home from a festival said she simply had no other alternative than to get behind the wheel, WCBS-TV reported.
An angry Susan Kristofferson, 39, admitted that she had been drinking, but said she's "furious" that she's been "put up as a common criminal" as a result of her actions.
"Yes, I had a couple beers in me because I was at a festival, no I shouldn't have gotten behind the wheel," she said Tuesday. "I had no money for a cab because I spent all my money on my children so they could have a good time that night."
Kristofferson was pulled over shortly after 12:30 a.m. in her Pontiac sedan after an officer noticed one of her headlights were out. When the sheriff's deputy who pulled her over began talking to her, he noticed something else.
"The first indication was that he smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage," said Putnam County Police Capt. William McNamara. "In the backseat of the car were five children ranging in age from 9 to 15."
Kristofferson then failed several sobriety tests in front of her children and their friends. She told WCBS-TV that she was in better condition to drive than her husband.
"Nobody knows the circumstances of what happened. My husband was 10 times drunker than I was," Kristofferson said. "I had two kids left with me that weren't even mine that I had no intention of driving home in the first place. It was either let my husband drive and kill everybody or leave those two kids abandoned."
Kristofferson's blood alcohol level tested above the legal limit and she was arrested for driving while intoxicated and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She claims the evidence against her is circumstantial.
"It was the fact that it was either let me drive or someone else who was drunker," she said as she slammed her front door while speaking to WCBS-TV.
If found guilty, Kristofferson faces up to a year in jail or up to a $1,000 fine for each charge. She's due back in court next week.
Kristofferson is the second woman in a week arrested for driving intoxicated with children in the car. Susan Rogge was also charged with drunk driving last week after her car skidded off the road and her daughter called 9-1-1 from inside.
Mug shot of Susan Kristofferson, 39, who admitted she should not have gotten behind the wheel before she was arrested for DWI, but said she had no other choice.
