A Lady Lake man was arrested when he admitted to drinking a fifth of alcohol after hitting a sign and fence with his vehicle.
Deputies saw 41-year-old Jared Weingarten struggling to keep control of his white Chevrolet Impala while taking a bend in Lady Lake around 3:10 a.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He went off the road, struck a street sign and then hit a wooden fence at 5230 Bertsville Road.
Weingarten did not immediately stop at the scene of the collision to find the victim and give them his information. One of the deputies saw sparks coming from his vehicle, and several units turned on their emergency lights to stop him. He instead continued driving, erratically drifting repeatedly from right to left for about two minutes before finally stopping, the report said.
After being detained, Weingarten admitted to drinking a fifth of alcohol. He later provided breath samples of 0.222 and 0.219, the report said.
Weingarten was ultimately arrested on charges of DUI, DUI (damage to property) and fleeing to elude after crash involving property damage. The New York native was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $8,500 bond.
He was also arrested in Sept. 2019 for threatening to beat and mutilate his stepdaughter’s boyfriend.