Man arrested for DUI over twice the legal limit after crashing into FHP car in Miami
MIAMI — A man was arrested for drunk driving over twice the legal limit early Thursday morning after he crashed into a Florida Highway Patrol car in Miami.
Danny Gonzalez, 26, is currently facing DUI-related charges, including driving under the influence with damage to property or person, the arrest affidavit stated.
Around 3:15 a.m., an FHP trooper was called out to the westbound lanes of the Dolphin Expressway (SR-836) concerning a trooper involved in a crash.
When the responding trooper arrived, he found a marked FHP vehicle with rear-end damage and a gray Honda Civic with heavy front-end damage and also found Gonzalez, sitting on the ground.
When the responding trooper met Gonzalez, he smelled a "strong odor" of alcohol from his breath, noticed he had "bloodshot eyes" and was slurring his speech, the affidavit stated. At this point, the trooper told him he would begin conducting a criminal DUI investigation. After asking him if he would conduct a field sobriety test, Gonzalez agreed.
While conducting an eye exam, Gonzalez had trouble keeping eye contact and had to be reminded to follow the tip of the stimulus with his eyes only, swaying as the trooper was examining him. When asked to do a walk and turn, Gonzalez had to be reminded to keep the instructed position "multiple times," missing steps, failing to count his steps out loud and stepping off the line on "multiple occasions," the affidavit noted.
During the one-leg stand test, Gonzalez failed to count out loud as instructed and had to put his foot down "multiple times" to keep his balance.
Gonzalez was then placed under arrest and medically examined by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue on scene, where he agreed to take a breathalyzer test. After the 20-minute waiting period, Gonzalez was noted to have BAC levels between 0.184 and 0.196 — over twice the legal limit. He was then brought into FHP headquarters for further questioning.
After waiving his rights, the trooper asked Gonzalez where he was coming from before the crash and he said he was coming from the club. When asked what he had to drink, Gonzalez said he had "three cups of vodka," with his last cup about 45 minutes before the crash, the affidavit noted. The trooper then asked him if he was the only person in his car at the time of the arrest, to which he confirmed he was.
After being medically cleared at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Gonzalez was transported and booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correction Center.