The Florida Highway Patrol has announced in a press release that an Escambia County law enforcement officer was injured after his patrol car collided with a vehicle being operated by a DUI suspect. The male suspect has been apprehended and prosecutors have filed DUI related charges against him. According to pnj.com, he is currently in custody at Escambia County Jail.
Police officer or not, any American can benefit from the legal DUI talent that manifests itself on the USAttorneys.com website. This includes Jason Seidman who knows the legal battlefield and he can be reached at www.defendingsouthflorida.com.
The male suspect has been identified by state DUI attorneys as 26-year old Joseph Gavin Merritt. As per police reports, Merritt was driving in an easterly direction on Gulf Beach Highway along with a 26-year old passenger identified as James Perry. The vehicle the suspect was driving has been identified as a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. Supposedly, Merritt veered off his lane, crossed the centerline markings on the high way and entered the west bound lanes and was driving into traffic head on, eventually colliding with an Escambia County Sherriff’s Chevrolet Tahoe.
Sheriff William Hallford who was in the patrol car attempted to steer to the right to avoid collision but failed to avert the accident since he could not react quickly enough. The officer’s patrol vehicle is said to have rotated in a counter clockwise motion more than a couple of times before finally skidding to a halt. The Chevrolet Suburban apparently continued travelling in the same direction before it collided with a tree and came to a rest.
Thankfully, Hallford is not seriously injured and is being treated at Baptist Hospital. Merritt on the other hand refused to give breath, urine, blood toxicology tests, and faces a DUI charge and also a charge for refusing to submit to lawful sobriety testing.
It is not clear whether he has a DUI attorney to represent him or whether he will need to be appointed one by the state.
Boca Raton Police: a Boca Raton man was driving super drunk when he crashed his car
The maximum allowed blood alcohol limit to drive in the state of Florida is anything below 0.08%, it varies from person to person as to how many standard drinks they may consume to reach this level, in some cases anything over one 12 oz. beer an hour may result in a blood alcohol content over 0.08%.
But in the case 36-year old James Robson, you can bet your last dollar that he had much more than a beer an hour, before he crashed his car into another vehicle on Friday and recorded a mind-blowing 0.382% BAC. According to Sun Sentinel, Robson has been charged with DUI and damage to property and is out on bail. James, you may want to give James a call, it appears you may be needing his services.
Florida DUI legislation
DUI offenders are shown no mercy by Florida State law and if you need legal help, just press right here. The penalties are harsh and range from years behind bars to fines to the installation of ignition interlock devices and much more depending on the circumstances of your DUI arrest. This includes if you have any prior DUI convictions, the status of your blood alcohol content, and if you caused bodily harm or death by DUI, to name a few.
If you have DUI related questions or if you are going to be charged with any crime, do not hesitate to reach out to Jason Seidman. His website is: www.defendingsouthflorida.com and is number is 954-740-0502.
