Florida: home to 12 months of sunshine, balmy weather, and some really crazy drunk driving stories. Take one drunk driver who was arrested outside one of the biggest tourist events in Crystal River, Florida as an example. You won’t be surprised when you hear how his story ended.
Paul Wilkins was driving drunk just outside Citrus River’s yearly Pirate Fest. Because it’s a large event police were on the scene, and he drove his vehicle straight into a traffic control point. That’s when things got a little strange, because he drove through a bunch of traffic cones, struck a detective’s vehicle, pushed it thirty feet, and crashed it straight into the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) brand new patrol car.
The irony of the situation? The patrol car he crashed into has “Don’t drink and drive” and “A Cop or a Cab, you decide” emblazoned on its side. The car was clearly displayed amid flashing lights and other patrol cars as part of a set up by police that night, and the CCSO thought it was a teachable moment, and because crazy drunk driving stories should be shared, they posted the story on their Facebook page.
Thankfully this is one crazy drunk driving story that had a funny ending; most of them do not. What Florida really needs to stop these drunk drivers is an all offender ignition interlock law, but that may not be happening anytime soon. Two bills presented to require all drunk drivers to install an ignition interlock have died in the judiciary committee, and only time will tell if they are brought back in some shape or form.
Until Florida has the means to crack down on their drunk driving population, they’re going to have trouble with drunk drivers like these. In this case only an anti-drunk driving patrol car was damaged, but it could have ended badly for everyone there that night.