SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — When Aaron Paul Hazen was pulled over Wednesday in Seminole County, deputies found a four-pack of beer, nine empty mini Fireball Cinnamon Whisky bottles and two young children in his SUV, according to authorities.
A concerned individual at the school reported a possible drunken driver who “smelled like alcohol” and almost crashed into another vehicle while pulling out of Sabal Point Elementary School, a Seminole County arrest report said.
The driver, later identified as Hazen, had just picked up his children from the school, investigators said.
A Seminole County sheriff’s deputy spotted Hazen’s car at a red light on Sabal Palm Drive and started to follow, noting that Hazen was having difficulty keeping the SUV in its lane, the report said.
When Hazen was pulled over, the deputy reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol. He said that when he asked for his license, Hazen almost gave him a debit card instead.
When asked if he’d had anything to drink, Hazen told the deputy that he’d had only two beers, the report said.
The deputy reported finding a four-pack of beer on the front passenger seat and nine mini Fireball Cinnamon Whisky bottles in a trash bag.
Hazen’s two young children were in the back seat, the report said.
He was arrested and charged with two counts child neglect, driving under the influence and nine counts of possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Hazen is a funeral director a Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home on Woodlawn Cemetery Road in Gotha.
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