A Leesburg teen behind the wheel on a learner’s permit was arrested for driving under the influence after an automobile crash.
Leesburg police responded early Wednesday night to the accident scene on Braebury Drive where witnesses told them that a car involved in the property damage crash had left the area. Police found a car with damage to the front of the car and airbags deployed in the 1600 block of Stafford Avenue.
The driver, 18 year-old David Resendiz, was behind the steering wheel of the car. When the officer spoke to Resendiz he could smell a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Resendez denied being in an accident even though the damage and paint transfer on the front of his car were similar to that from the accident scene, according to the arrest report.
Resendiz had some balance issues when he got out of the car and did poorly on the standardized field sobriety exercises. He was placed under arrest and handcuffed. When the officer attempted to place Resendiz in the patrol car, the teen resisted his efforts and head butted the officer’s forehead two times before he was secured in the back seat. He then refused to get out of the patrol car at the Leesburg Police Station and had to be pulled from the vehicle. At the station he claimed he only had two alcoholic beverages and then refused to take a breathalyzer test.
He was booked at the Lake County Jail for two felony counts of battery to a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and DUI with accident causing property damage. Bond was set at $13,000 which was posted that evening.
