After being involved in an accident, Barnard W. Cato III, 29, could be seen fleeing the scene of the accident. He had just been involved in a collision with another car and newspaper stand. The crash left the other driver injured and damage to the newspaper stand.

The Gainesville man was found a short while later at the nearby Wal-Mart. When questioned by Gainesville police, he informed them that he had the runs and that if he did not flee from the scene that he would have soiled his clothing.

While there was no stink from any clothes being soiled with feces, Cato did appear to police to be intoxicated. The report indicates that he had a very strong odor of alcohol on his breath and clothing. The report also indicates that Cato had bloodshot eyes that were watery in appearance.

Officer Stephanie Pridgen asked Cato to submit to a breathalyzer when she realized that he was obviously intoxicated. When Cato refused to submit to the breathalyzer test, he was promptly arrested as Florida law states that refusal to submit to a roadside sobriety test is tantamount to an admission of guilt for drinking and driving.

Cato has been charged with DUI, hit and run, and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. The charge for leaving the scene of an accident involving injury is a third-degree felony and could land Cato in some very serious trouble, including jail time.

While it may have seemed like a good time to Cato at the time to flee the scene to take care of himself in the bathroom, he could have avoided two additional charges and a lot of trouble.

Zimmer, 48, was at the jail to visit an inmate and was observed by Sheriff’s to be intoxicated. He was watched closely by the officers who were in presence. The fact that this was happening at 11:22 did not bode well for Zimmer.

When Zimmer decided it was time to leave, detention officers watched and observed. They saw Zimmer get into the car with two other individuals. Because they felt Zimmer might be intoxicated, they contacted the patrol officers for assistance.

Zimmer did not get far down Orient Road, the road the jail is on, before being pulled over by police.

When Zimmer was pulled over, the officers realized that he had blood-shot eyes and that he was slurring his speech. After removing Zimmer and the other two passengers from the vehicle, they found an open bottle of vodka in between the driver’s and passenger’s seat. The smell of the vodka could be smelled on Zimmer’s breath.

Zimmer was immediately charged with DUI and brought right back to the jail he just left. There was no indication about what happened to the rest of those in the car. It is a reminder to all that if you are going to drink, do not drive. Definitely stay away from a jail if you are acting on this behavior. You will be caught and arrested almost immediately. There was no word on what bail, if any, had been set on Zimmer’s release from jail from his DUI charge.

Officers stopped an SUV that was driving along a Sarasota access road. The initial reason for the stop was because of the toy car being dragged behind the SUV with a 7 year old in it.

The driver of the vehicle, Paul Berloni, was clearly intoxicated whenever officers pulled the SUV over. In the back of the SUV was Belinda Berloni who was cheering on the child being towed behind the SUV.

The car itself was attached to the SUV using two dog leashes. They were driving at a rate of 5 to 10 miles an hour and had apparently been at it for several hours already according to Belinda Berloni.

Both grandparents realized that they were not doing what was in the best interest of the child, but claimed that it was fun for the child and they just wanted to have fun with the child.

Paul Berloni is no stranger to being arrested for DUI. This is his fourth arrest for DUI, but his first which is attached to a child cruelty charge. When arrested, he refused to take the field sobriety test even though he admits to having had a few drinks before driving. When asked for his license, he denied having one because it was revoked over 10 years previous due to one of his DUI arrests.

Belinda Berloni was also arrested with a child cruelty charge.

The father of the child arrived on the scene and was very upset with his mother. He realized that they probably had a drinking problem, but did not think that they would have done anything like this with the child.

Toni Nieves was the culprit in the crash which left the two young men, Bradley Summersill, 18, and Brian Walker, 22, dead. The two young men were on their way to pick up the mother of a friend. The accident happened close to Jones Avenue near Zellwood.

The crash which occurred was a result of Nieves crashing into the back of the car for the two young gentlemen. By crashing into the back of the car, it caused the car to veer off of the road and crash.

The biggest problem in the crash resulted from the fact that Nieves was already on probation for DUI. She was under instructions not to drive at all and was also told not to drink. According to the mother of one of the deceased, Nieves should have never have been on the road.

The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) for Nieves was more than twice the legal limit at 0.189. The limit was determined to be the point at which driving is impaired by drinking which Nieves was clearly above.

The family for Nieves wanted the young gentlemen to share the blame for their death because Summersill, the driver, was intoxicated with a BAC of 0.10. Of course, this pales in comparison to the fact that Nieves was not even supposed to be driving at all.

Nieves was facing a possible 30 year sentence for her charges of two DUI/manslaughter charges. Due to the plea deal which was worked out with the prosecution, she only received 10 years for her part in the crime. She is also responsible for serving a 5 year probation after release, $20,000 in restitution and permanent revocation of her driving privileges.

Recently a Steak and Shake had more come through the front door than a hungry patron.

The Steak and Shake in Winter Park was thankfully empty at 1:30 a.m. when Brittany Christian, 21, decided to get some late night food. She was attempting to pull into the drive thru when she made a bad decision about where she needed to turn.

Rather than turning into the lane to get into the drive thru, she turned into the front door of the restaurant. Driving a sports utility vehicle, Christian had enough power to push her car all the way through the door and almost to the front counter before finally coming to a halt.

With no one in the restaurant, there was no one to get hurt other than the employees who were luckily out of harm’s way. It was more of a scary experience for all parties involved in the accident.

The restaurant on U.S. highway 17-92 will be able to repair the damages, and it is unclear if they will pursue Christian to help with the payment. Even through the damages, the restaurant will be able to still serve customers through the drive thru window which sustained no damage at the time.

The other person who was inside of the vehicle with Christian has not been named and there are no reports that they were charged for actions in the crime. More than likely, they were not even intoxicated and should have been driving the car.

As it was, Christian was driving the car and has been apprehended for driving under the influence with property damage. She has been booked through the Orange County Jail and is being held on $1,000 bail. At the time of the report she had not been bailed out.

Smith, a 48 year old resident of Louisiana was arrested recently in Tampa for driving drunk only to be discovered for having 9 previous arrests. He stood trial in front of the Hillsborough Circuit Court where he was sentenced to ten years in prison.

This is an ongoing problem for Smith who has had his permanent license revoked in 1984. Not even having two young girls at home was enough to cause Smith to make the right choices in terms of driving while intoxicated. To be sure, he was even arrested for an 11^th DUI arrest before he was sentenced in this case and still has yet to go to court on that charge.

Smith was charged with driving under the influence as well as driving with a permanently revoked license. It was during the time that he was released on bail that he was arrested for the 11^th time.

The defense attorney pleaded the case of Smith to get a light sentence not only because of his remorse. He pleaded that only two of the incidences resulted in minor accidents where no one was hurt.

The prosecution found Smith’s actions deplorable and was asking for the maximum allowed sentence of 15 years in prison. Smith wept when pleading to have a light sentence.

When the sentence of ten years was given to Smith, he accepted the sentence saying that “there is no one responsible for the position I’m in but me.”

After serving the ten years in prison, Smith will be on probation for five years during which he will be required to submit to psychological evaluation and substance abuse therapy.

This is something which many are suspecting is the reason for the death of Michael Richard Edmonds Jr., 26. This resident of Clay County was attending the University of Florida as a journalism major. He was a student like any other, but was arrested on Saturday for a DUI.

The stadium was open for a small amount of students to tour the facility. There were about 30 students in the stadium getting the grand tour when Edmunds leaped from an upper level of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Onlookers rushed to help the student who was not yet dead. They tried to provide medical attention while the paramedics were on their way. The police also rushed to the scene to help in subduing the crowd and providing better medical care.

They were not able to help Edmonds recover from his injuries and he died on the spot. This marks another student to have died in similar circumstances on the site. The last death has not been for years, but it is not unheard of for students to take their life in this way.

The speculation leans towards suicide though there was no note which was indicated in any reports. The only recent motivator for such an act was the DUI charge that Edmonds received recently. Campus officials are reiterating that any student who feels the mounting pressure of student or outside life is urged to speak ith campus counseling services right away to avoid a possible tragedy.

The incident happened at a Taco Bell in Port Richey. Taco Bell employees working the drive thru were dealing with a couple of really annoying customers at the late night drive thru. They decided that they should call the police about the incident as it appeared that the two in the car were both intoxicated.

When police arrived on the scene, they found the car still on the premises with the two still inside. As soon as the sheriff’s deputy was positioned behind their vehicle, the two passengers started tossing various items out of the car. Everything from food to food boxes to the keys to the car were tossed out of the window.

When the deputy approached the vehicle, he confronted Micah James Mistretta. Mistretta smelled like alcohol and was slurring his speech when speaking with the officer. He also had bloodshot eyes. All signs pointed to the idea that Mistretta was under the influence of alcohol.

The deputy attempted to administer a breathalyzer, but Mistretta refused a total of three tests. He would not even agree to submit to the roadside sobriety tests. Refusal to submit to any sobriety tests always leads to an arrest and charge as if you had taken the test and failed it.

Mistretta argued that he could not be charged for DUI because he was not drinking and the keys were not even in the car when the officer arrived. The witness reports and their presence in the car was enough to prove that Mistretta was indeed driving the car while intoxicated.

He was processed through the Land O’Lakes jail and was released after posting bail. This is his second DUI charge.

The crash which occurred at Christmas in 2009 left Brett Gerken, 59, and his wife Renee, 49, dead. Last month, Christopher Thomas Price pleaded no contest to the two counts of DUI manslaughter. The sentence was handed recently landing Price in jail for 25 years.

This is the second fatal crash for Price. In 1995, Price was involved in a DUI manslaughter case in Marion County. The charge was amended to a charge of vehicular homicide when he pleaded guilty to the charges.

The charge which occurred in 2009 occurred on Taylor Road near Port Orange. When Brett Gerken saw a pickup truck approaching him coming in the wrong direction, he veered off of the road, but was still hit 15 to 20 feet off of the road.  Brett Gerken was pronounced dead on the scene. His wife died the next day.

The toxicology report from the accident showed that Price was driving under the influence of drugs. There was a trace amount of marijuana in his system. The majority of the drugs which was impairing his driving was the Xanax and oxycodone he had been taking.

Many friends and family members of the Gerkens showed up as well as writing in letters to the court. Among those who wrote into the court included Courtney Gerken, daughter to the deceased. She wrote that ‘the holidays will always seem empty to me”. She also stated that, “because Mr. Price didn’t learn from his mistakes, I have no immediate family.”

Price also wrote from jail to Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson that he feels he was living in a fog and realizes that he was a true addict.

David Lee Weed, 58, was arrested on June 21, 2011 for his part in an accident which occurred on Interstate 95 near Daytona Beach. Weed was traveling in his 20077 Volkswagen Jetta when he rear-ended a 1998 Chevrolet Suburban. Upon impact the Suburban was caused to crash. This caused the Suburban to crash in a way which was fatal for the occupants of the vehicle.

Inside of the vehicle was Glady D. Jean, 46, Miami. She was killed at the time of the accident and the rest of the passengers were rushed to the hospital for care. Husband Auguste Jean, 62, died while at the hospital. The other four people in the Suburban were lucky enough to have only sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash. Weed did not suffer any major injuries as a result of the accident.

The charges that Weed was facing as a result of his accident were two counts of DUI manslaughter. He ended up pleading no-contest to the two charges. Because the charges were both second-degree felonies, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for each charge. He has been sentenced to serve the terms concurrent. This means that he will only serve 17 years total for both deaths. He was also charged with a first-degree misdemeanor of DUI with damage to person/property. When Weed is released from prison at the end of his sentence, he will not be allowed to drive. The judge permanently revoked his driver’s license in order to protect the community from anything like this ever happening again.