LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A Lake County man is accused of being under the influence of alcohol while running into cars and dropping off a child at school Wednesday.
Christopher Beauchemin blew a blood alcohol level of 0.233 after being arrested and in the Lake County jail. In Florida, an illegal blood alcohol level is 0.08.
According to a Lake County Sheriff's Office report, a driver called saying that another driver almost struck his pickup truck and ran him off Lake Ella Road in north Lake County.
"There is a white Chevy car turning in there and I mean it is driving erratic," one witness said in a 911 call.
The driver observed the man, later identified as Beauchemin, turning onto Spring Lake Road from U.S. 441, where he nearly ran into three more cars head-on before turning into Trinity Church parking lot, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw a child was seen getting out of the vehicle and walking into school.
A Fruitland Park police officer said when he made contact with Beauchemin he observed him passed out behind the wheel and when he attempted to wake him up, Beauchemin shifted the vehicle into drive and it struck a white wooden fence.
When officers told them they were investigating a traffic crash, he responded that he did not crash into anything; however, officers noted damage to his vehicle and the fence.
Beauchemin also alleged that the officers made him crash and yelled at them.
"He became offensive," Sgt. Fred Jones said. "He got into a fighting stance with the detention deputies here."
Officers said Beauchemin's eyes were red, glassy and watery, and his speech was slurred. When officers gave Beauchemin a breathalyzer test he blew 0.233, which is over the legal limit.
Beauchemin faces charges of driving under the influence with property damage and child neglect.
"It breaks my heart," Jones said. "Your job as a parent, or as a caregiver if that child is in your custody, you should be a protector, and a child expects you to be a protector as well."
According to court records, this is Beauchemin's second DUI offense. Records show he pleaded guilty to DUI back in 2016.