Florida

Florida Man Wasn't Drinking While Driving, Only at Stop Signs

A Florida man who insisted he wasn't drinking while driving and was only having his bourbon at traffic signals and stop signs was arrested on a DUI charge.

Earle Stevens Jr., 69, smelled of booze and had an open bottle of liquor in the passenger seat of his car when he was arrested back on June 27 in Vero Beach, according to an arrest report obtained by TC Palm.

Indian River County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a McDonald's after a woman said a car behind her kept hitting her bumper, and pointed to the car driven by Stevens, the report said.

Stevens said he felt "pretty good" and was drinking Jim Beam from the bottle but only when his car was stopped, the report said.

"He further explained that he was not drinking while the car was moving and only when he stopped for stop signs and traffic signals," the arrest report said.

After he was taken to jail, Stevens’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.153 and 0.147, over Florida's .08 limit, the report said. He was charged with DUI and driving without a license.

Contact Us