Off-duty Key West officer sees drunken driver hit cyclist, tracks him down, police say

KEY WEST, Fla. – An off-duty Key West police officer took motion after witnessing a drunken driver hit a bicyclist at the island and stay on going Thursday night time, in line with an arrest document.

The alleged drunken driver, 28-year-old Scott Luis Rodriguez, flashed a smile in his Monroe County mug shot, however, in line with prison information, he faces a major price in reference to the crash, which injured the bicycle owner.

According to an arrest document, at round 7 p.m., Officer Esteban Andrade noticed Rodriguez “zig-zagging” in all places the street in a Mazda SUV within the house of Kennedy Drive and North Roosevelt Boulevard.

The document states Andrade referred to as the Key West Police Department non-emergency quantity and, whilst on cling, adopted Rodriguez onto Truman Avenue, the place he became proper onto Whitehead Street.

The document states that at its intersection with Angela Street, Rodriguez hit a bicyclist visiting the Keys from New Jersey and saved on going.

Police mentioned after seeing the crash, the off-duty cop checked at the bicyclist, who wasn’t severely harm. The bicycle owner later took himself to Lower Keys Medical Center with lawsuits of hip ache and abrasions.

Andrade then persisted directly to observe Rodriguez, who ultimately pulled over within the parking space of the Monroe County Courthouse at 500 Thomas St., police mentioned.

The officer flashed his badge, recognized himself as a police officer and ordered Rodriguez out of the automobile. He would cling Rodriguez at gunpoint after the suspect “aggressively approached” him, the document states.

It states Andrade feared for the security of his youngsters, who had been with him in his automobile.

Police mentioned Rodriguez advised them he parked his SUV as a result of he was once “drunk” and mentioned he become increasingly more combative, later declining a box sobriety take a look at.

The document states Rodriguez, who lives at the island, had “noticeably slurred speech” and “screamed and thrashed around” as officials attempted to put him of their cruiser. Police discovered an empty bottle of Smirnoff vodka within the Mazda.

Police mentioned Rodriguez refused to take a breathalyzer take a look at.

According to prison information, he faces a legal price of leaving the scene of a crash involving harm and misdemeanor counts of using underneath the affect, leaving the scene of a crash involving belongings harm and resisting an officer with out violence.