A drunk driving suspect was arrested after causing a crash at Lake Sumter Landing while traveling with a 5-year-old child in his vehicle.
Deputies from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle collision at about 9:30 p.m. Monday in a parking lot at Lake Sumter Landing Square on Old Camp Road. The at-fault driver, identified as Sam Tawale of Ocala, told deputies he was attempting to make a right turn out of the parking lot when he collided with another vehicle.
The native of Zimbabwe was traveling with an adult passenger and a 5-year-old child at the time of the crash. While investigating the scene, a deputy noted that Tawale had bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, slow body movements, and the distinct odor of alcohol on his breath.
Tawale initially denied drinking but later admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages. He agreed to participate in a series of standardized field sobriety exercises in the parking lot, but he struggled significantly. During the evaluations, he took the wrong number of steps, missed heel-to-toe contact, and stumbled backward. When asked to recite the alphabet, he failed twice, telling the deputy he forgot and using an expletive to describe his mistake.
He was transported to the Sumter County Jail, where he provided two breath samples. The samples registered at 0.158 and 0.157 blood alcohol content, which is nearly twice the legal limit in Florida.
Tawale was placed under arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher with a person under 18 in the vehicle. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $1,000 bond.