A Silver Springs man was arrested for DUI after Ring camera footage showed him crashing into the back of a vehicle at a stop sign.
Officers responded to a traffic crash with injuries at Berckman Street and County Road 25a around 10:15 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. One of the drivers was later identified as 25-year-old TDM.
Upon arrival, the officers saw a silver hatchback car with a severely damaged front end near the middle of the intersection. There was also a blue passenger car with severe rear end damage just north of the intersection. One of the officers went to speak with the drivers and thought M, the driver of the hatchback, seemed impaired, the report said.
M looked uneasy and eager to leave the scene as the investigation continued. When asked what happened, he stated he was headed north on County Road 25a approaching the intersection with Berckman Street. He saw the blue passenger car stop, roll forward and stop again, the report said.
He was stopped, but when the other vehicle moved, he began to move forward. He did not notice the car had stopped again, causing the front of his vehicle to hit the back of the car. The report noted the debris field and fluids that leaked on the road indicated the crash happened before the vehicles got to the intersection. His vehicle also had significant front-end damage as well as airbag deployment, not consistent with a lower speed crash.
While the officer stood with M, he swayed as he leaned against his vehicle and slurred his speech. The odor of alcoholic drinks came from his breath as he spoke. He also agreed to let EMS evaluate him but got increasingly agitated with them, the report said.
A witness then came forward with Ring camera footage of the incident. In it, the blue passenger car had been slowing for the stop sign when M’ vehicle collided with the back of it. He appeared to have not slowed down at all, the report said.
The driver of the other vehicle complained of chest pain, was evaluated by EMS and ultimately had her family member take her to a nearby emergency room. The damage to her car was disabling, and it was towed from the scene at the owner’s request, the report said.
An officer finished a driver’s exchange of information at the scene and gave a copy to M, along with a traffic citation for careless driving. He was then told that a DUI investigation was underway and asked to participate in field sobriety exercises. He agreed but got annoyed with the exercises, the report said.
Due to this and other indicators of impairment, M was arrested and taken to the LPD. He provided breath samples of 0.280 and 0.281 g/210L. He was read his rights but became belligerent and ignored the officer. He stated he did not understand and continuously said he did not answer questions, the report said.
Because M was in a traffic crash with airbag deployment, he was taken to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, located at 600 E Dixie Ave., Leesburg, for medical clearance. He was very uncooperative with staff and refused treatment. His mood changed frequently from being happy to talking down on himself and saying, “When I get out, I’m just going to kill myself,” the report said.
M was charged with DUI and DUI with property damage or injury. The New York native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $2,000.
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Source: leesburg-news
