He is accused of driving a stolen pickup, hitting a car, leaving the scene and hitting a house.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published June 25, 2003
ZEPHYRHILLS - A habitual drunken driver rear-ended a car on U.S. 301 late Sunday, left the scene and then crashed a pickup through a fence and into a house, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Dwayne T. Head, 40, of 39009 Bay Ave., Crystal Springs, was charged with his 10th offense of driving under the influence. His other charges are leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, DUI with personal injury and property damage, habitually driving with a suspended license and refusal to submit to a breath test.
Head was also driving a stolen truck, the patrol said.
Bail was set at $52,000.
According to the patrol, Head was speeding north on 301 near State Road 39 in Crystal Springs about 10:30 p.m. Sunday when he ran into the back of a Ford Mustang driven by Richard J. Valentine of Brooksville.
Head continued north and ended up on Fifth Street in a neighborhood just outside Zephyrhills. Valentine, who suffered minor injuries, followed him, Trooper Ronald Evans said.
Head veered onto the east shoulder of Fifth Street near Jentral Avenue, lost control and crashed into the living room of a concrete block house, Evans said.
Inside the home, at 38351 Jentral Ave., was 26-year-old Robert Ellis. The crash damaged about $2,500 worth of property, including a VCR, two televisions and a chair.
All three men - Head, Valentine and Ellis - were taken to East Pasco Medical Center. Ellis had a cut on his chin that required stitches. Valentine was treated and released, Evans said.
Head was driving a 1993 Nissan pickup reported stolen out of Columbia County, Evans said. He was released from the hospital early Monday and taken to the county jail in Land O'Lakes, where he remained Tuesday evening. The truck is registered to Advanced Pest Control in Alachua County.
Because he refused a breath test, Head's blood-alcohol level was unknown. But Evans said he was clearly intoxicated.
"When we interviewed the defendant . . . he didn't know where he was, he didn't know what car he was driving," Evans said. "He was drunk."
