Two Englewood Officers Saved by the Bell

A Drunk Driver Crashes Her Vehicle to their Patrol Car

GROVE CITY, FLORIDA – A drunk driver collided her vehicle with the police CCSO patrol car putting the life of two Charlotte County Sheriff’s officers at stake this Monday morning on Placido Road by Lemon Bay High School in Grove City.

A deputy police officer patrolling that morning attempted to stop the car from driving away by pulling behind the vehicle with emergency headlights on at approximately 1:50 a.m. on Monday.

A Sergeant present at the scene had noticed an approaching vehicle travelling directly towards the car. He had waved his arms frantically and yelled out “look out” to the police officers to grab the oncoming driver’s attention, but to no avail. The jeep did not change its course and crashed against the cops patrol car. Fortunately, the police CCSO patrol car driver’s door was open, enabling the deputy officers to escape seconds before the crash. The officers had tucked their legs inward, a split second before the collision. The driver behind the jeep swiped the entire side of the patrol car causing extensive damage to the patrol car before coming to a halt on a sidewalk 125 yards from the crash site. Luckily, neither officer was injured.

Marie Lewis, 30, was the driver of the jeep and was cited for Driving While License Suspended or Revoked. Later onwards, a family member came to his rescue and removed the vehicle.

A resident of Broadway, Englewood (Sarasota County side), the thirty year old was examined for driving under influence through a sobriety test. Her breath test showed 0.201 and 0.208, well above the 0.080 limit. According to the reports, Lewis remains in the Charlotte County jail on $750 bond. FHP was responsible for administering the DUI crash investigation. Lewis was convicted on two accounts by the FHP, which include DUI as well as Property Damage.

This incident shows the reason for the “Move Over” law in the State of Florida.