Off-duty Seminole County sheriff's deputy 'passed out behind the wheel' charged with DUI: Police
Seminole County deputy charged with DUI
An off-duty Seminole County sheriff's deputy was arrested and charged with DUI early Saturday morning after officers found her "passed out behind the wheel." Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, a DeLand police officer found Kristen Simpson, 29, asleep in her personal vehicle at the intersection of East Taylor Road and South Woodland Boulevard, according to the arrest affidavit.
DeLAND, Fla. - An off-duty Seminole County sheriff's deputy was arrested and charged with DUI early Saturday morning after officers found her "passed out behind the wheel."
Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, a DeLand police officer found Kristen Simpson, 29, asleep in her personal vehicle at the intersection of East Taylor Road and South Woodland Boulevard, according to the arrest affidavit.
Body-camera video obtained by FOX 35 shows the officer trying to wake Simpson up by knocking on her window multiple times. When that didn't work, he knocked on the sedan's roof multiple times. Then, the traffic stop took a turn.
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"No! Put it in park!" the officer could be heard yelling at Simpson. The video shows that once Simpson woke up to the officer's commands, the sedan moved forward and collided with a parked Volusia Sheriff's Office (VSO) vehicle that was parked in front of her to prevent Simpson from waking up and driving into the intersection.
"The reason we're here is because you're passed out behind your wheel," the officer told Simpson. "I was not passed out," Simpson replied. "I'm banging on your car, and you rolled in front and crashed into a sheriff's car," the officer added.
Police suspect Simpson was driving under the influence with two dogs in the back after smelling "a strong odor of a fruity alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath" and finding "three open ‘White Claw’ alcoholic beverage cans."
She was arrested and charged with DUI and cited for careless driving. She refused a breath test and a field sobriety exam. She spent a few hours in the Volusia County jail early Saturday morning before bonding out.
A Seminole County Sheriff's Office spokesperson says Simpson was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of both the criminal and internal investigations.
She wasn't the only driver suspected of DUI that officers and deputies encountered at that intersection. While investigating Simpson's case, VSO says a driver crashed into the back of one of their patrol cars at the same scene.
FHP identified the driver as 46-year-old Alistair Bond of Sanford. He was also charged with DUI.