A Leesburg man was arrested for driving under the influence when he crashed into a power pole after drinking Fireball on New Year’s Eve.
Michael Leonard Whiley, 29, struck a power pole on Park Holland Road around 12 a.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. When Leesburg Fire Rescue and law enforcement got there, they found a white Chevy Tahoe disabled on the south side of the road near the pole, broken at the base. The vehicle had signs of roll-over damage and severe front-end damage.
While Whiley was being assessed by EMS, officers with the Fruitland Park Police Department and the LPD learned he had been seen getting out of his vehicle through the back compartment almost immediately after the accident. He later confirmed several times he was driving at the time of the collision, and no one else was in the vehicle, the report said.
Whiley was also unsteady on his feet, had difficulty answering and focusing on questions being asked, was talkative with slurred speech, and had glassy watery eyes. He smelled of alcohol as he spoke, as well, leading the officers to begin a DUI investigation. He complied with this, advising that he drove from his home in a nearby neigborhood to the Wawa off Griffin Road. He stated he crashed the vehicle on the way back home but could not say how other than he may have been speeding, the report said.
He later remembered he was driving east on Park Holland Road and ran off the right side of the road, at which point he felt the vehicle get stuck in the dirt or part of the easement. This caused him to lose control, the report said.
Whiley continued to lose focus, had mood swings and spoke incoherently as the conversation went on. His eyes were still droopy, and he had a blank stare at times. When asked if he had anything to drink, he stated, “I’m not gonna lie,” and implied he had a little Fireball before driving. The report noted that when EMS asked him that earlier, his demeanor changed completely, and he said no.
He was asked if he consumed any marijuana, too, to which he stated, “Always.” He advised that the last time he smoked was about three days prior, the report said.
Whiley subsequently agreed to participate in field sobriety exercises but could not finish all of them. For the ones he tried, he could not keep his balance and became emotional. He was then arrested, the report said.
While on scene, an officer smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and asked Whiley’s girlfriend, the owner, if he had been drinking. She stated, “It’s New Year’s, everyone’s been drinking.” She added that she did not think or know Whiley had taken her vehicle but was able to track his location to the accident over her phone. He had been in town near Wawa and stopped on the road for a long time before she went to check on him, the report said.
Whiley was subsequently transported to the LPD for booking. During this process, he made several statements about how he “messed up” and “made a mistake.” He also refused to submit to a breath test, the report said.
He was charged with DUI (accident/property damage or minor injury) and DUI (refusal to submit to DUI breath or urine test) and taken to Lake County Jail after being cleared by medical staff at UF Health Leesburg Hospital. He was released after posting $7,000 bond.