Gainesville Police arrested a local man early Monday morning after he reportedly crashed his car on 13th Street.
At about 1:07 a.m., Steven Blake Shoemaker, 25, crashed into a tree located next to a bus stop in the 2600 block of NW 13th St. while under the influence of alcohol, according to GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
Tobias said the passenger was sent to UF Health Shands Hospital with back and neck pain.
Shoemaker had bloodshot, watery eyes and dilated pupils, along with an injury from the airbag, according to the report.
"Anytime you’re over that legal limit, it’s trouble — as this one proves," Tobias said.
Shoemaker said he has cerebral palsy before he agreed to a field sobriety test, according to the report.
He showed signs of nystagmus, a response to alcohol in people’s eyes, during several tests, Tobias said.
"We always say, ‘nystagmus does not lie,’" he said.
Tobias said only two out of almost 300 GPD officers are trained as drug recognition experts, who can usually guess a blood alcohol level by looking at someone’s eyes.
Shoemaker registered a 0.123 on a breath test, according to the report.
"Honestly, as bad as it is, that’s fairly low for Gainesville," Tobias said.
Police arrested Shoemaker on charges of driving with a suspended or revoked license and DUI with property damage.
Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail where, as of press time, he remains in lieu of a $20,000 bond.
Contact Giuseppe Sabella at gsabella@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @gsabella
