A top enlisted leader at the Marine Corps’ school for new officers has been arrested after a suspected drunk driving incident on the evening of May 31 that sent two teenagers to the hospital.
“A Stafford woman was arrested last night after striking two pedestrians with her vehicle in Aquia Harbour,” the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Thursday. “Both 14-year-old pedestrians were airlifted to a nearby hospital to be treated for serious injuries.”
Ryan Wilbur, a spokesman for the office, confirmed to Military.com on Friday that the driver was Beth Ellen Abbott. Abbott is a sergeant major assigned to the Marine Corps’ Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, as well as a combat veteran with a Purple Heart, according to the Marine Corps and service records.
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Maj. Danielle Phillips, a spokeswoman for the Training and Education Command, said that the Marines were “aware of the recent incident in Aquia Harbor and are working with local law enforcement for their ongoing investigation.”
Abbott’s official biography said she is the battalion sergeant major of Combat Instructor Battalion. Though previously accessible, the page has since been taken down.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s release, deputies responded to reports of two teens being struck by a car at around 9 p.m. on May 31 to Aquia Harbour — a town south of
