DAYTONA BEACH — A teacher at David C. Hinson Middle School said Wednesday she was under the influence of so much medication that she has no recollection of her arrest last week on charges of theft and drug trafficking.
Kimberly Vicars told The News-Journal she deals with chronic pain from injuries in two vehicle crashes that led to three neck surgeries. She insisted the 29 hydrocodone pills she was found with Friday were prescribed to her. She had no idea that keeping them inside an Advil bottle was against the law, she said.
"It's a terrible, terrible thing to live with chronic pain," Vicars said Wednesday during a telephone interview. "The opioid epidemic needs to be fought much harder than it is because this kind of thing shouldn't happen to people."
Vicars, 46, of New Smyrna Beach, is charged with trafficking in hydrocodone and grand theft. Police said she tried to steal $522 worth of clothing and other items from a Target store, and had the hydrocodone pills on her without a prescription.
She was released two days later after posting $11,500 bail, according to court records.
"I don't remember what happened," Vicars said in the phone call. "I was on so much medication."
She declined to comment on whether she drove herself to the store.
Vicars is an eighth-grade language arts teacher at Hinson. She has been reassigned to a position with no student contact until her case is resolved through the court system, school district spokeswoman Nancy Wait said.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen," Vicars said of her future employment. "My whole life is my kids. My students mean everything to me."
Vicars is accused of taking more than 32 different items from store racks at Target, 2380 W. International Speedway Blvd., and trying to leave the store without paying for them. She pulled the tags off some of the items, concealed them in a tote bag and headed for the exit, according to a Daytona Beach police report.
Vicars' purse was searched and that's where police found the pills, she said.
"I didn't know it was illegal to carry prescription pills in a non-prescription bottle," she said, adding she only did so because regular pill bottles are so large.
State law defines trafficking as possession of more than 4 grams of hydrocodone. The pills in Vicars' possession add up to 12 grams, police said.
Court records show Vicars sued a motorist following a motor vehicle crash that occurred June 3, 1999, at the corner of Taylor and Airport roads. That section of Airport Road is now South Williamson Boulevard. Vicars stated in the complaint that she suffered a "permanent injury" in the crash.
During her interview with The News-Journal, she said a bone had to be removed from her hip and inserted into her neck and then a subsequent surgery was needed to insert a titanium plate along her spine.
Vicars said the most recent crash she was involved in occurred six months ago, which worsened her chronic pain condition. She said she suffered nerve damage to her hand in addition to other injuries.
Vicars said she receives a monthly prescription of hydrocodone to help her cope with the pain.
Wait said Vicars passed her background check and drug test prior to her employment and there were no disciplinary reports in her file. Records show that Vicars has never been arrested in Volusia County prior to Friday.
Vicars was first hired in December 2012 as a substitute, according to the school district. She became a full-time teacher in March 2013 and worked the next three months at Holly Hill School as a language arts teacher. She taught that same subject at Deltona Middle School during the first semester of 2013 before becoming a substitute again from December 2013 until August 2014. She said her health issues forced her to reduce her work hours and that's why she became a substitute again.
She became a full-time language arts teacher again during the 2014-15 school year. She spent that year at DeLand High School.
She has been at Hinson since August 2015, Wait said.
Last month, Gov. Rick Scott signed a law limiting opioid prescribing. The law, once it goes into effect July 1, will require a three-day limit on most opioid prescription, although doctors could provide a seven-day supply if medically necessary.
The new restrictions, however, will not apply to patients with pain related to cancer, terminal illness or "serious traumatic injuries."
Vicars is one of two Volusia schools employees arrested this month. On Monday, Bruce Corbin Krupa, 24, a substitute teacher in West Volusia, was arrested by Orlando police on allegations he traveled to meet an underage girl for sex. The girl was an undercover detective, authorities said.
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