A 30-year-old man is facing multiple counts of driving under the influence after police said he slammed his Ford Ranger into the back of a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office cruiser that was stopped to help another driver on the Mathews Bridge.
NOTE: Because the charges are misdemeanors, News4JAX is not naming the driver of the truck.
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According to the arrest report, an officer was called around 2:30 a.m. Thursday to check on a report of a vehicle blocking the right lane on the Mathews Bridge.
After arriving, the officer found a man had a flat tire on his Chevy Malibu, and another driver had stopped to help the man change his tire.
The officer left his patrol car with its lights on behind the Malibu to help other drivers see it.
But as the officer and the good Samaritan finished changing the front driver-side tire on the Malibu, a Ford Ranger slammed into the back of the patrol car, pushing it into the Malibu, which then hit the good Samaritan’s car that was stopped in front, the report said.
The impact injured the Malibu driver’s leg, and he had to be taken to the hospital.
The officer said he quickly checked on the Malibu’s driver and then ran to the truck, which was rolling backward down the bridge.
The report says the officer opened the driver’s door and tried to get the driver to stop the truck, but he was unresponsive, so the officer had to jump into the truck to stop it and put it in park.
The passenger in the truck was also unresponsive and fell out of the truck when the officer and the good Samaritan opened the door, the report said. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the truck refused medical services and told the officer at the scene that he knew he’d been in a crash but didn’t know how it happened, according to the report.
Police said the driver told them he’d been out celebrating with friends off Merrill Road, and they noted he had bloodshot, watery eyes, appeared confused and smelled of alcohol.
The driver agreed to a field sobriety test and was then arrested on DUI charges, including injuring people and causing property damage.
The officer said the disabled car hit his knee during the crash, but he suffered only a small abrasion.