Accused drunk driver barrels through blocked-off scene of fatal crash, Florida cops say

A man accused of driving drunk barreled through the blocked-off scene of a fatal crash investigation before he was arrested, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.

Deputies were investigating a crash that killed a 24-year-old driver on New Year’s Eve at an intersection in Deltona when, just after 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 1, a man drove through the crash site, according to a news release from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

The 30-year-old driver went around a patrol vehicle that had its emergency lights flashing and multiple traffic cones before he blew through yellow crime scene tape, according to the release, which was posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.

Deputies stopped the vehicle and noticed the driver appeared to be impaired, the release says. Deputies found a “cold, half-empty can of High Noon vodka and soda” in his vehicle’s cup holder, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver failed to complete field sobriety tests, the sheriff’s office said. He later completed breath tests at the sheriff’s office in Deltona and got results of 0.180 and 0.173 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, the release says. The legal limit is 0.08 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

Deputies arrested him on charges of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, the sheriff’s office said. He was taken to the Volusia County Jail and later released on $1,500 bail.

The driver was not involved in the fatal crash that was being investigated.

The fatal crash occurred just before 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at a major intersection in southeastern Deltona, the release says.

Brandon Michael Morales, 24, was driving a 2010 Kia wagon southbound on Howland Boulevard — a five-lane road — when he attempted to make a left turn onto Fort Smith Boulevard, the release says. His vehicle turned into the path of an oncoming 2018 Dodge Charger, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Dodge Charger collided with the Kia, causing it to then strike another oncoming vehicle, a 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck, the release says.

Morales, who was the only person in the Kia, was pronounced dead on scene, the sheriff’s office said.

Everyone involved in the crash remained at the scene. First responders took the driver of the Dodge Charger to a local hospital with minor injuries, the release says. The people in the Chevrolet pickup truck were not injured.

Deputies are investigating the crash, the release says. An obituary for Morales could not be found online.

Deltona is about 30 miles north of Orlando.