A man was arrested after he was driving under the influence and crashed his vehicle into a fence, before walking away, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies responded to Spirit Lake Road around 7 p.m. after a witness called and said the driver left his white Honda in a yard after he crashed into a fence and walked away.
PCSO said deputies found the suspect, R S-L, 34, walking near the crash and observed that he had watery, bloodshot eyes and detected the odor of alcohol.
Deputies asked him if he had been drinking, and S-L told deputies he had six bottles of Modelo beer around 5 p.m.
During a field sobriety test, S-L displayed several signs of impairment, and a breath test recorded two breath samples of 0.13 and 0.124 BAC, PCSO said.
S-L was arrested and charged with DUI with property damage, DUI, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, and no valid driver’s license.
S-L is living in the country without legal permission, so each of his charges was upgraded by one degree.
“Our illegal guest from Nicaragua could have easily injured someone, or destroyed a family while driving drunk—fortunately, it was only a fence he destroyed. And then he cowardly walked away from the scene and responsibility. In Florida, if you’re committing the crime of being here illegally, your other criminal charges are enhanced one degree; he’s now facing a serious felony because he caused damage to property while driving under the influence,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
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Source: wfla
