Local
FHP: Driver’s breath test measured 0.165 after Ellisville patrol-car collision
A 26-year-old Lake Butler man was arrested after his vehicle struck a Columbia County deputy’s cruiser at an Ellisville intersection early Tuesday. Authorities said a breath test about 90 minutes later measured 0.165; no injuries were reported.
A 26-year-old Lake Butler man faces a DUI charge after his vehicle hit a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office patrol car at an Ellisville intersection early Tuesday, authorities said.
Deputies were called at about 4:26 a.m. Oct. 27 to State Road 238 and U.S. Highway 441, where a vehicle was stopped at a stop sign and the driver appeared to be unconscious, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. As deputies approached to check on the driver, he became startled and drove forward, striking a marked patrol vehicle, authorities said.
FHP troopers investigated the crash and suspected impaired driving. They identified the driver as Devon Smith. He was taken to the Columbia County Jail, where he gave a breath sample about an hour and a half after the collision. The sample measured a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.165, according to the sheriff’s office—more than twice Florida’s 0.08 legal limit for most drivers.
Smith was charged with DUI involving property damage. No injuries were reported.