High-ranking Miami-Dade jail official was 3 times over legal limit in DUI crash: FHP
A high-ranking Miami-Dade County jail official found himself behind bars over the weekend after causing a two-car wreck while nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit, troopers said.
Around 8:50 p.m., when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper arrived at the site of the car crash, they found Omar Fernandez, 50, sleeping in the passenger seat of a white Toyota Camry at the intersection of Southwest 88th Street and Mills Drive, an arrest report read.
Janette Perez told the trooper that she was driving her 2020 Hyundai Palisade with her 14-year-old son when Fernandez crashed into her in the Camry, which belonged to Miami-Dade County. Hearing this, the trooper woke up a sleeping Fernandez; and after a brief talk, he could smell the ”obvious odor” of alcohol on his breath.
Fernandez failed three field sobriety exercises. He was arrested and taken to the FHP Miami station, where he blew .236 and .231 on a breath test, both nearly three times over the .08% blood-alcohol legal limit.
Fernandez is the civilian division chief of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.
The agency said in a statement, “On July 6th, the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department was notified of the arrest of civilian Division Chief Omar Fernandez on suspicion of DUI charges. In accordance with department protocol, the employee was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM.
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