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Mother arrested for DWI at school
Published 11:36am Thursday, January 12, 2012A 40-year-old Austin mother was arrested Wednesday afternoon for allegedly driving drunk to pick up her son from school.
Police arrested Gina Mason, of Austin, after they received an anonymous tip that she was on her way to pick up her son from Woodson Kindergarten Center while intoxicated. According to Police Chief Brian Krueger, officers found Mason walking out of Woodson Elementary School and toward a green Ford Escort with her son around 2:30 p.m.
An officer spoke with Mason, and she denied being intoxicated. The officer noticed she had bloodshot, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. Mason failed field sobriety tests, and her preliminary breath test indicated her blood alcohol content was more than the legal limit, Krueger said.
Police arrested Mason before she drove with her son in the car.
She will likely be charged with third-degree DWI, according to Krueger.
this will be good at stuff at the kids graduation….
“hey mom remember that time you picked me up from school drink and got arrested, your the best mom”
couldn’t there be a charge of child endangerment???
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Hey Rhino,
Do you take some perverse pleasure in kicking people when they’re down? What purpose does your comment serve other than to belittle? By posting your comment I’m led to believe that you think your comments are appropriate, or funny, or something… They’re not. Please consider stopping and thinking before hitting the send button.
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whats the matter??? was this you? or your friend? or relative?
its a comment section. i commented.
dont like what i comment. dont read it.
real simple.
it was this persons own doing by drinking and driving, then almost drove drunk with her kid in the car!!! its her fault her name is in the paper and hopefully the embarrassment will learn her a lesson. what would you have liked me to say…
aww that poor mom had to go get her kid from school drunk. she is a good mom there would have been no chance that she could have gotten in an accident and possibly killed her innocent child.
stopped…. thought… yup hitting send button.
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Hey Rosebandit
She drives drunk then she deserves ALL the embarrassment that goes with it!!
Glad this kid came out ok (in this situation)with this kind of mother.
NO kind words for a drunk!!
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Couldn’t agree with you more Rhino. No sympathy for Mom. How many times did she chauffeur her kid drunk before getting caught?
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I have ZERO tolerance for people that drink and drive! No excuse in the book will work with me! Too many INNOCENT people have died because of them!
This woman should have to stand on a street corner with a sign that says “I wanted to drive drunk with my kid in the car and endanger him and others!”
Spare me the sentimental you know what!
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How sad. To think a parent is willing to even be under the influence of anything while the child is in their care. I too have no sympathy for this woman. She’s supposed to be the one to protect the child.. and to not only put him in danger but also the lives of other innocent children and families driving around a school drunk… I feel sorry for her children and pray she gets more than a slap on the wrist and probation.
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No sympathy for this woman, except she needs help!!! Poor child, can’t imagine.!! : (
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Have to agree with Rhino on this one
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I think we all have some sympathy for her, she may really have a problem. I suppose it’s more correct to say she does have a problem. One that is treatable.
That being said, perhaps some public comments critical of her behavior are exactly what she needs to make it click in her brain that she needs to get this under control. Seriously, you’re intoxicated by 2PM? You can’t wait until later in the day to toss a few back? At least until you get your kid home. For crying out loud…..
I hope I wouldn’t be going to far to say that everyone who’s made critical comments would be just as quick to praise someone like this who overcomes and beats an obvious addiction.
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Hey Rhino – and others,
It is pretty simple actually, condemn the behavior, not the person. It’s what I consider a common courtesy to neighbors, even one’s who’ve made mistakes or who have problems. Shaming and embarrassing others doesn’t help and isn’t necessary.
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Huh? “Condemn the behavior, not the person.” I repeat, huh? What kind of “it’s nobody’s fault, everyone gets a ribbon” kind of gibberish is that? This country has laws. Laws are enforced. People who break those laws put themselves, and fellow citizens, at risk. This behavior needs to be addressed. That is what is simple, not your (slow) train of thought.
One of the huge problems with this country is that there is no sense of shame anymore. Folks walking around in clothes that are a couple of sizes too small, fat hanging out everywhere, underwear in plain view, cuss words filling the air, etc… The stock in the community square used to be pretty effective, and it would be nice to see it put back in place. You go to pick up your kid from school while drunk? Your punishment is to do a couple of hours in the stocks, on a couple of different Saturdays, with a sign that clearly states why you’re there.
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Dear jmdaniel,
You’re an advocate for shaming others… OK. I tell you what, the next time you make a mistake, you tell me how you want your neighbors and friends to respond – by humiliating you or by expressing understanding (not approval of your actions).
Now remember jmdaniel, I’m not commenting on the alleged’s actions – never did. I only responded to an insensitive comment made by rhino. I’ll also mention to you that you don’t need to make fun of me or other people when you disagree with them. This is just the sort of insensitive behavior that isn’t necessary or productive.
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WOW! The comment made by ‘resebandit’ is exactly what’s wrong with our society!
“It is pretty simple actually, condemn the behavior, not the person. It’s what I consider a common courtesy to neighbors, even one’s who’ve made mistakes or who have problems. Shaming and embarrassing others doesn’t help and isn’t necessary.”
Enough of this sympathetic ‘stuff’ that is going around! I work in education and the fact that we no longer ‘condemn’ the person is what’s wrong with today’s kids! They don’t ever feel or know that they’re doing anything wrong! We make excuses for people by saying that “Oh it’s okay! You have a problem and we’ll get it figured out..” when we should be saying “You screwed up! PERIOD!” I’m not saying that she doesn’t or shouldn’t get help and that I will be grateful when she does, but gosh darn it, I’m going to condemn the behavior AND HER! This is a pretty serious offense and she needs to know that it’s not ok! Don’t feel sorry for her! Feel sorry for her KID! Now if and when she gets the help she needs, I’d be the first to tell her “Congrats!” as I know problems like this are serious and hard to overcome; but let’s not sugar coat anything here!
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I am going to ad to K-man’s comment… I know he agrees…
She needS to stand up and take responsibility for her actions.
It is not someone else s fault that she was picking her kid up drunk. It was hers, she tipped the bottle, her kid didn’t, i didn’t, K-man or any of the other posters didn’t do it to her… SHE DID IT TO HERSELF!
this is like getting a speeding ticket and telling the officer that you were not speeding… the car was! guess who was in control of the car??
SHE WAS IN CONTROL OF THE ALCOHOL!!!
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Dear K-Man,
You make the point that condemning others would somehow be beneficial to our society, and you suggest that by condemning kids we’d help them know when they’re doing something wrong. My point – There’s a difference between holding people accountable and publicly condemning, shaming, or embarrassing. Humiliation NEVER promotes growth or health, either to the individual or in a community. Rather, it produces the opposite and worse.
Note that I never commented on the alleged’s actions, only with how rhino and others choose to use the public forum in a hurtful way. To me, this is a poor reflection on rhino, but it also reflects poorly on our community when no one speaks up to challenge this type of insensitivity.
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The scary thought is how many innocent children she could have run over leaving the school…..
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I would like to thank the anonymous tipper. Who ever you were thank you. You proabbly saved alot of people from possibly getting hurt.
Rosebandit I bet if she would have hurt one of your family members that you wouldnt be so understanding of why this lady was driving drunk.
I must agree with Rino and K-man on this one. I hope that she gets what she has comming to her. I also hope that she gets the help that she needs. But she has to want to get better no one can make her if she doesnt want to.
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I feel so sad for the child beyond the possibly lethal ride home from school. What kind of supper does Mom prepare if she’s passed out by 5pm? And who helps the child with school work or projects… or just listens to how the day went? Can’t you just feel the love of a hung-over guardian getting their 5 year old ready for school in the morning? Wonder how often this child arrives ungroomed and late? I know… lots of questions.
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Dear cooper,
To be clear, I never commented on the alleged’s actions. I don’t condone her actions, if it is proven in court that she endangered her child. I don’t turn a blind eye to impaired driving. But… I am not judging her and I certainly won’t mock her (see rhino’s original post), least of all in a public venue.
I think that thoughtful and caring people can offer comments without putting others down, even people who mess up big time. That’s all I’m saying.
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Nobody embarrassed or humiliated her more then she did herself…
and there is no sensitivity for stupidity…
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Dear Rosebandit,
Seriously… you’re worried about hurting Miss Mason’s feelings? I believe you are a bit detached from reality. I used to be that person that made poor decisions similar to Miss Mason’s (or worse). I’m not very proud of these actions, but there is one thing I am certain of; I would not be alive and where I am today if I had been coddled, as you’re suggesting. Miss Mason needs some brutal honesty and some “tough love”. If that comes in the form of this blog, so be it. It may save her life someday… or someone else’s.
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Dear ruserious,
Coddled? Who’s coddling? Me?
Tough love? Says who? You?
Look, I’ve never made any comments about the alleged in my posts. Not one. My point has been that it’s not my place to judge or certainly humiliate, and I believe that others who think that it is their right to shame or embarrass are wrong.
In an uncomfortable sort of way, I agree with rhino’s comment that the alleged has probably been embarrassed quite a bit by her actions. The article speaks for itself in this respect. No need to pile on. Setting the world right again, rhino offers another offensive judgement. So sad for him.
One last point, good for you to get your act together. But tell me – honestly – when people shamed you for what you did, did it work for you?
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I think all these comments are wonderful for this mother to see….. I hope she gets the help she needs, obviously she needs it!! I’m so glad she got busted and hopes she seeks help!!!
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Dear Rosebandit,
Here’s a quote from your last post… “My point has been that it’s not my place to judge or certainly humiliate, and I believe that others who think that it is their right to shame or embarrass are wrong”.
So, in the first part of the sentence you say it’s not your place to judge yet all your posts relate to judging other bloggers opinions.
Let me give you another judgment… you’re a hypocrite.
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Dear ruserious,
As I’ve stated in earlier posts, I think it is a common courtesy not to judge other people. Rather, judge the action. That’s what I’m do – judging people’s actions (comments) who choose to post comments about the individual in the article. This is a not-so-subtle distinction that a lot of people miss. I hope this helps you to understand where I’m coming from.
Back to my question to you that you didn’t answer, when people shamed you for what you did, did it work for you?
If you want to discuss the issue respond. If you want to play “gotcha”, don’t bother. Labeling me (or other people) isn’t productive.
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Again, your hypocricy is shining through. In a separate article, you’ve “labeled” several people as being prejudice or racist. Just saying, if walks like a duck and quacks like a duck….
Getting back to your question… Its evident that you are a bit more educated than most of the bloggers here so when I said that the embarrassment and tough love helped me, I figured I didn’t need to say it again. I am not going to get into the aspects of my recovery with you, this is certainly not the forum, and quite frankly I don’t think you would understand. But I will HONESTLY answer your question with a simple – yes.
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Dear ruserious,
I’m very sorry for your experience. To be shamed while you were trying to recover is unkind. There are far better ways to help people heal. To the extent that the alleged in the article has her own recovery to undertake, it’s my hope that it won’t include what you or many others endure.
All the best in your on-going recovery.
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Thank God for the person who called in the anonymous tip- that person possibly saved several lives!!
I feel terribly for the child. I hope this lady gets help, which it is pretty obvious that she needs it, at least for her sons sake.
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I don’t mind trading comments with you rhino. It’d just be a whole lot nicer if you used your manners.
Have a great day!
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