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Deputies: Caregiver Goes Drinking, Leaves Tot Home Alone

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2009

Updated: 03/19/2009 01:49 pm

Brenda Singer

A nurse hired to provide round-the-clock care for a medically dependent 15-month-old left the child home alone while drinking and was arrested for having nearly four times the legal amount of alcohol in her blood, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Brenda Sue Singer, 44, a licensed practical nurse, arrived at 6402 Markstown Drive on Wednesday evening to care for the child as the parents were going out to visit friends. The parents left about 10:30 p.m.

Deputies stopped Singer in her vehicle about 1 a.m. at Interstate 75 and Morris Bridge Road for suspicion of drunken driving. She had been driving her 1999 Ford Escort with the headlights off, said sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway. An investigation determined Singer's blood alcohol level at 0.314 and 0.307. Under state law, a driver is considered impaired with a blood alcohol level of 0.08.

The parents of the child returned home about 3 a.m. and discovered their child had been left alone.

Singer, who works for Maxum Healthcare in Tampa, told deputies she had a couple of glasses of wine but would not say where, Callaway said.

Singer was charged with driving under the influence and child neglect. She is being held at the Orient Road Jail on $2,500 bail.

Singer's husband Jay refused to comment.

A man answering the phones at a Maxum Healthcare office in Tampa refused comment.

Singer was issued a Licensed Practicing Nurse license on Dec. 29 according to state records. It expires on July 31, 2009. There are no disciplinary actions on file.

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

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