Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

It wasn't kids driving crazy this prom night

WINTER SPRINGS - Patrick Curley and nine friends hired a limo driver to take them to their high school prom because they wanted to be safe on a night known for underage drinking and occasional recklessness.

But it was the limo driver whose behavior got scary Saturday. The students say they had to take the keys away from her after she drove through stop signs, cut off other drivers and drove on the wrong side of the road.

Christina Tomacelli, 49, of Altamonte Springs was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and refusing to submit to a blood-alcohol test.

Arresting deputies said they found a half-empty bottle of Smirnoff Citrus Twist next to the driver's seat. Tomacelli also told deputies that she had been drinking wine.

She didn't return a phone call to her home Tuesday.

Patrick, a senior at Winter Springs High School, called home on his cell phone to report the driver's behavior.

Robert Curley told his son to tell the limo driver to pull over, and when she stopped, the students took the keys out of the ignition. The father made a 911 call to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office as he drove to the scene.

"This is unbelievable," he told dispatchers. "We rented the limo so you're obviously going to be safe."

The students used his van and a vehicle brought by another parent to get to the prom - 11/2 hours late.

[Last modified April 13, 2005, 01:29:17]