VERO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A still-cold beer and three empty bottles were found near the driver’s seat of a car involved in a head-on collision that injured four people in Vero Beach.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO) said deputies responded to the head-on crash on Sunday night near South U.S. Highway 1. Witnesses told IRCSO that a copper Dodge SUV had struck a Chrysler 300, and two men — a Honduran national named Jose Matilde Henriquez Lainez, 45, and his passenger — fled from the SUV, but they later returned to the scene.
Indian River County Fire Rescue transported three juveniles to HCA Vero Beach Emergency Room for further treatment while Henriquez Lainez refused additional medical treatment.
A witness at the scene said she saw the crash and heard one of the victims running with a child screaming for help. She then described seeing a middle-aged Hispanic male wearing a dark polo and pants exit the driver’s seat of the SUV. Henriquez Lainez matched this description, according to IRCSO investigators.
After speaking to Henriquez Lainez with the help of a translator, investigators said that Henriquez Lainez was driving northbound in the southbound lanes when he struck the Chrysler.
Authorities found four bottles of Modelo beer in the SUV, one of which was half-empty and still cold. Henriquez Lainez admitted to being the driver and showed signs of impairment, including bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol, according to the arrest affidavit. Henriquez Lainez agreed to perform field sobriety exercises but performed poorly — stepped off the line, missed heel-to-toe, used his arms to balance, and did not count out loud — leading to his arrest for DUI, according to the IRCSO arrest report.
A breath test conducted later showed Henriquez Lainez had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.187 and 0.178 grams per 210 liters of breath. He was booked into the Indian River County Jail for DUI causing damage to property or person and driving without a valid license.
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source: cbs12
