Woman Arrested After Being Found Asleep At The Wheel With Toddler, Alcohol

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OAKLAND PARK (CBSMiami) – A woman was arrested after being found asleep at the wheel of her vehicle with an open alcohol container and a child in the backseat.

According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Jennifer Hernandez was found passed out inside her 2014 Cadillac at the intersection of Northwest 33rd Avenue and Commercial Boulevard in Oakland Park.

A 2-year-old child was in a car seat in the back of the vehicle, which was in the left turn lane of NW 33rd Street.

Authorities were called by a concerned citizen who tried waking up Hernandez by banging on the window to no avail.

Upon arrival, Oakland Park Fire Rescue was able to wake Hernandez up and had her exit the car for examination.

Hernandez stated that she had not slept for 24 hours and had worked from 9 p.m. the previous night to 9 a.m. that morning, and then had picked up the child around noon to go to a birthday party.

BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that "She expressed that she had been awake for a long time, some 24 hours."

Hernandez also told authorities that she was prescribed Xanax, Mirtazapine and pain killers due to a recent surgery.

Authorities noticed that her eyes appeared watery and bloodshot, her speech was slurred and that there was an odor of alcohol coming from her.

There was an open bottle of vodka on the passenger seat of Hernandez's car. BSO says a third of it was consumed.

Concepcion said the safety of the child was a particular concern for deputies.

Hernandez was subsequently arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.

That charge can lead to a prison term of up to 5 years.

A records check showed that she had been arrested before in 2008 for DUI.