A 31-year-old Florida man was picked up by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boat from where he was allegedly hiding from deputies after he jumped into the ocean. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department says this incident took place after a high-speed chase in the early morning hours of a recent Friday. The man was taken into custody, and he now faces several charges, including DUI, resisting arrest and property damage.
According to an incident report, a high-speed chase followed after a deputy saw a suspected drunk driver pulling off at high speed after leaving a bar. The man’s pickup truck struck the median, but he allegedly raced away at speeds exceeding 100 mph with the deputies giving chase. Law enforcement attempted to put an end to the erratic swerving of the suspected impaired driver on the Overseas Highway by deploying tire spikes, but even that did not stop the pickup truck driver.
The chase ended when the truck finally rolled over after striking a lamp pole and smashing into a palm tree. Deputies claim the driver exited the wreck and leaped over a seawall into the ocean, where he clung to a bridge piling for about 30 minutes before authorities removed him from the water. A search of his vehicle allegedly yielded some empty, and some full, containers of alcohol, and deputies say a blood test later indicated a BAC level of .214 percent — the legal limit is .08.
A conviction on DUI charges that involves a BAC level of more than twice the legal limit in Florida can have dire consequences. Anyone in a similar situation might want to protect his or her legal rights by securing the services of an experienced DUI defense attorney. The lawyer can scrutinize the procedures used to search a vehicle as well as how authorities determine the accused’s level of impairment before devising a defense strategy to achieve the most favorable outcome.
