SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – After hitting three cars, a drunken driver crashed into a fire hydrant and caused a washout Thursday night on Oviedo Boulevard, just north of Mitchell Hammock Road, according to officials.
Oviedo police and firefighters responded to the crash around 10 p.m. and arrested the driver — 32-year-old Robert Garcia — at the scene, records show.
When police arrived, an officer said he could smell alcohol on Garcia’s breath. Garcia was transported to the Seminole County Jail to face charges of DUI and refusal to submit to DUI testing.
The arrest report states Garcia could not recall how the crash occurred or what direction he was traveling at the time.
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Garcia said a vehicle crashed into him, causing him to lose control of the car, but surveillance footage captured by a Tesla involved in the incident showed Garcia allegedly causing the crash, police said.
An ambulance at the scene tried to transport an injured victim to a nearby hospital when the ground collapsed and the ambulance fell through the ground due to the washout, according to a city spokesperson.
A Seminole County Fire unit was called to help transport the patient and a tow truck pulled the partially-submerged ambulance out of the washout, the spokesperson said in a statement.
After an investigation, Oviedo Public Works crews said they found that the hydrant’s shut-off valves were damaged due to the crash. At 9 a.m. Friday, the valve was located and the flow of water was stopped, according to the spokesperson.
Due to the washout, the city has closed Oviedo Boulevard northbound between Mitchell Hammock Road and Center Lake Lane for utility work. The city of Oviedo will announce the reopening of the road on its social media sites.
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