Just before midnight one evening, a PCSO deputy witnessed a white Ford pickemup truck committing some infractions on State Road 60 near Bartow, and it appeared that the driver may have been impaired.
The deputy attempted a traffic stop by turning on his red & blues.
The truck pulled into the Pilot Travel Center, and then entered the Arby’s drive thru going the wrong way, and then stopped.
As the deputy walked toward the Ford, he saw the driver get into the back seat and the passenger climbed into the driver seat and revved the engine.
The deputy ordered the men out of the Ford, but they refused. So the deputy performed an occupantectomy on the Ford.
The original driver was identified as Bernaldo Lopez-Lopez. The second driver was identified as Juan Lopez-Lopez.
Both men had watery-bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcoholic beverages on their breath. What neither man had was a driver’s license.
Then something amazing happened…something that has probably happened a few times in the past, but it’s something that surely doesn’t happen very often at all. The two men were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in the same vehicle.
Bernaldo actually drove the Ford, but Juan also had physical control of the vehicle when he jumped into the driver’s seat and began revving the engine.
Mr. Lopez-Lopez and Mr. Lopez-Lopez were taken to Grady Judd’s Bed & Breakfast. Before they could get their breakfast though, they provided breath samples.
Bernaldo’s was 0.137 and 0.133, and Juan’s was 0.133 and 0.131.
The Lopez-Lopezes were both charged with: DUI, Driving without a Valid License, and Resisting.