Despite occurring back in 2022, Louisiana police are re-arresting 49-year-old Danielle Leigh Price. Originally charged with DWI, she is now facing charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and cruelty to the infirm.
As first reported by WAFB, Price had been hired to provide 24/7 care for an 87-year-old woman in her home. In November 2022, the elderly woman made her way to the phone and contacted her family about the absent caregiver. Rushing over, the family discovered that the woman was sitting in her own feces and urine.
Neighbors told the family that her car had been gone since about 10 am that morning. Taking advantage of the position of trust the family had put her in, Price took the car out, joyriding and doing various activities. Around 7:30 pm that night, she was in a hit-and-run accident, having left the elderly person without her care for a solid 9 hours at that point.
After the accident, Louisiana State Police apprehended Price and charged her with DWI. When given a test, her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reportedly came back at three times the legal limit. Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are reported throughout the year across the country as people try to find cheaper alternatives to overpriced and under-stimulating nursing homes. As Medicaid, disability, pensions, and retirement funds are depleted, hiring a home health aide becomes more and more common.
Seniors like this one ultimately pay a steep price when the people hired to look after their best interests come up short. Especially when they neglect their care and proper hygiene guidelines as badly as happened here. The destroyed vehicle is just adding insult to injury.
