Jacqueline Danforth, the adopted daughter of Barbara Walters, was arrested at 1:24 a.m. Sunday in Naples, Florida and charged with DUI.
The 44-year-old was driving a Hondo Pilot SUV without headlights when she was pulled over by local police.
According to a report filed by the arresting officer, Jackie Danforth and her male passenger were “heavily intoxicated.” The policeman noted in his report, “I was afraid that the suspect may run into traffic on the highway, so she was taken to the ground due to her unpredictable behavior, then secured in handcuffs.”
A breathalyzer test revealed a blood alcohol level of .218 — close to three times the legal limit.
Danforth was booked and photographed before being released from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office shortly after posting a $1,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on June 12th.
In 2003 journalist Jane Pauley conducted an NBC interview with Barbara and Jackie, during which mother and daughter acknowledged that things were rocky at times during the teenage years. Danforth admits she ran away on a number of occasions, once for over a month.
Barbara claims, “Another parent would call the police. I didn’t want the headlines. It’s not that I didn’t want the headlines for myself. I didn’t want the headlines for her. I thought, “I don’t know what she’ll do.”
When Pauley shot back, “What do you mean, you didn’t know what she would do?”
Walters explained, “Well, if suddenly she’d read, ‘Everybody’s looking for Barbara Walters’ daughter,’ it might have made things worse.”
The 83-year-old recently announced she will retire next year after a career spanning six decades.
Photos: Twitter-Barbara Walters, Video Screen Grab-Oprah interview, Collier County Sheriff’s Booking Photo