Police: Petaluma woman drunkenly crashed with nephew, 3, in car

A Petaluma woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon after she allegedly drunkenly careened her car over the curb at a local elementary school before driving away with her 3-year-old nephew in the backseat, police said.

Staff from La Tercera Elementary School called police around 3:30 p.m. after the woman was seen driving her blue Honda Accord on to the curb in front of the school before backing up and stopping in the middle of the roadway, Sgt. Ron Klein said in a news release.

Officials from the Albin Way campus spoke to the driver as she was stopped in the street, noting that her speech was slurred and a small child was in the backseat, Klein said.

The woman, later identified as 58-year-old Lee Matthias, then drove away from the school, Klein said.

According to Klein, when police caught up to her minutes later at her east side Petaluma home, Matthias told officers that she’d “probably” been intoxicated when she drove her nephew to the school, where it’s believed she planned to pick up another family member.

Matthias was unable to safely undertake field sobriety tests, police said, but a preliminary Breathalyzer test indicated that her blood alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit to drive.

The child was taken into the care of family members and Matthias was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and driving under the influence, Klein said. She was booked into Sonoma County Jail and her bail was set at $30,000.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com)