BSO detectives arrest deputy who they say was intoxicated when he crashed a police car
A deputy with the Broward Sheriff’s Office was arrested Tuesday on multiple DUI and reckless driving charges following a car crash that left a man injured earlier this year.
Carlos Hernandez — now suspended without pay after five years on the force — is facing one count of DUI with serious bodily injury to another, two counts of DUI with damage to property and or person of another, a count of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and two counts of reckless driving with damage to person or property, county jail records show. The 36-year-old was behind bars on an $87,000 bond as of Wednesday afternoon.
“It is never OK to drive under the influence or in a reckless manner that puts lives at risk,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said Wednesday in a news release. “Too many lives and too many families have been destroyed by such actions.”
On May 15, Hernandez was off-duty driving his unmarked BSO Ford Taurus on the 13600 block of Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines at around 5:45 a.m., detectives say — when he crashed into the back of a KIA Sportage. An investigation later revealed that he was driving at 71 mph in a 45 mph zone when he crashed, according to BSO.
As a result of the impact, the victim’s SUV left the roadway, struck a tree and rolled onto its roof, investigators concluded. The injured man was then transported to Memorial Regional Hospital. Authorities didn’t release his name or age citing a law that protects victims of crimes.
BSO detectives on the scene said Hernandez’s breath smelled of alcohol several hours after the crash. They also listened to the dispatch recordings and noticed that his speech was “slow and slurred.” Following the crash, Hernandez was suspended with pay.
Detectives have determined that Hernandez operated his unmarked police vehicle “in a reckless manner, displaying a willful or wanton disregard for the safety and/or property of others.”
“We will make sure that those who break the law, including our own employees, are held to account when they commit crimes,” Tony said.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 4:01 PM.
