An 8-year-old boy riding in a car with his mom called 911 several times to report that she wasn't "acting normal," leading to her arrest for investigation of drunken driving and other charges, authorities said.
Paulette Lynn Spears, 33, was arrested Saturday after she drove to a fire station and said she had a medical problem.
Guided by her son's description of what he could see from the car, as well as by global positioning technology to track the phone calls, deputies arrived at the station less than a minute later.
"He said 'I don't know where we are, and Mom's not acting normal,'" sheriff's Sgt. Randon M. Walker said.
At one point, Spears took a cellular telephone from the boy, told the dispatcher not to worry and hung up, Walker said. The boy called back, and again his mother cut short the call, Walker said.
"The mother kept interrupting the 8-year-old," he said. "It happened at least twice."
At one point, Walker said, Spears apparently bit the boy's hand to get the telephone away from him.
Four minutes before the boy's first call, dispatchers had received a report of car that matched the description of Spears' car being driven erratically.
The boy and a 5-year-old child, who was also in the car, were placed with an aunt. As of Monday, Spears remained in jail for investigation of drunken driving, two counts of reckless endangerment and assault of a child. It was not clear if she had a lawyer to speak for her because she had not appeared in court.
Records show she has at least one conviction for drunken driving.
Taco Bell's World Series Bet: Free Tacos for All
Mon Oct 22, 9:41 AM ET
Many Americans will be wagering on this week's baseball World Series. For Taco Bell, the stakes are a free taco for everyone in the United States.
The fast-food chain on Monday unveiled a promotion it is calling "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco," which will run through the best-of-seven matchup.
"Millions and millions of people will be watching the Series and hopefully tuning in to see when they are going to get their taco," said Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch.
There has been at least one stolen base in every World Series matchup since 1990. When the first base is stolen, the unit of Yum Brands Inc, will announce a Tuesday afternoon when consumers will be able to walk into the chain's participating 5,800 outlets and ask for a free taco. Anyone who walks into a participating outlet during the give-away period would be eligible for a free taco.
Despite the promotion's name, stealing the taco will not be required.
Pentagon's Record Contract: A Recording Error
By Jim WolfFri Oct 19, 10:40 AM ET
The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday it was awarding what might have been its richest-ever single contract at $24 billion, but it erred by a factor of 1,000.
The supposedly huge deal, listed in the Pentagon's daily contract digest, was said to have gone to Boeing Co for engineering support of the Air Force's KC-135 refueling fleet.
"No one at Boeing knows of a contract of anything of this magnitude," said Forrest Gossett, a company spokesman in St. Louis.
The Air Force referred callers to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where the contract was handled. A base spokesman, Ralph Monson, said the real deal was for $24 million -- a difference of more than $23.9 billion.
"The correct figure was $24 million," he told Reuters, adding three extra zeros had been tacked on by mistake.
"No clue how," he said after checking with the base's bean counters. "Thanks for bringing it to our attention."
-- Edited by garougal at 09:16, 2007-10-23
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