A Villager was arrested on a drunk driving charge after crashing his Lexus in a roundabout.
Paul Saunders, 76, of the Village of St. James, had been driving the black Lexus shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday when he crashed the vehicle at the roundabout at Buena Vista Boulevard and St. Charles Place. The Lexus became “engulfed in flames” in the crash at the roundabout which is located between the Sandhill and Turtle Mound executive golf courses.
An investigator from the Florida Highway Patrol was summoned to the scene and suspected that Saunders had been drinking as he had the “distinct smell of an alcoholic beverage” and had to be “seated to prevent him from falling and injuring himself,” the arrest report said.
Saunders performed poorly in field sobriety exercises. He initially refused to provide a breath sample, but relented. However, he was “unable to provide a sufficient sample for his blood alcohol content to be determined,” the report said. He blamed an unnamed “medical ailment” for his inability to provide the sample.
Saunders was initially taken to the UF Health-The Villages Hospital ER at Brownwood. After he was medically cleared, he was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center where has booked on a charge of driving under the influence. He was released after posting $250 bond.
