Pageant Queen’s Credo Falls to DUI Conviction
A woman who won Miss Northeast Arkansas on an anti-drunken driving platform was convicted of driving under the influence. She surrendered her crown Friday.
Bethany Tosh, 21, of Jonesboro, was found guilty Thursday. She was ordered to pay $800 and perform 40 hours of public service for the Dec. 23 incident.
“I guess ‘ironic’ would be a good way to say it,” Jonesboro City Atty. Phillip Crego said.
Her mother, Kathy Tosh, said her daughter didn’t want to comment.
“I believe she’s innocent--not because she’s my daughter but because I saw the videotape from the police car. There’s no way she was intoxicated,” Kathy Tosh said.
Kathy Tosh said Bethany spoke out against drunken driving in the beauty pageant because when she was 13 her back was broken in a car accident caused by an intoxicated driver.
Bob Wheeler, executive director of the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant, said Tosh, who attends the University of Mississippi, would have competed with 47 others for the Miss Arkansas title in June.
Her crown now goes to the first runner-up in the local contest.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
