A high-speed chase on Interstate 75 ended with a drunk driving arrest at a Wildwood restaurant.
The Florida Highway Patrol had received an alert about a black Chevy SUV traveling at a high rate of speed shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday near Mile Marker 304. A trooper spotted the vehicle traveling at 100 to 105 miles per hour.
The trooper began pursuing the vehicle, which was swerving in and out of traffic almost causing several accidents. The chase went on for five miles.
When the vehicle finally pulled over, the driver was identified as 43-year-old Luis Arnoldo Castillo of Orlando and it appeared he had been drinking, according to an arrest report. There were two empty 25-ounce Budweiser beer cans in the vehicle. Castillo denied he had been drinking.
The trooper took Castillo to the parking lot of the nearby Steak ’N Shake restaurant on State Road 44 and invited him to participate in field sobriety exercises. Castillo nearly fell down during the exercises.
He was handcuffed and put into the back of a patrol car and at that point, began to claim he was “a very important political figure.” He provided breath samples that registered .192 and .184 blood alcohol content.
He was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving and fleeing from law enforcement. He was taken into custody and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $6,500 bond.
