Child uninjured after DUI suspect crashed into Hillsborough deputy's marked patrol car, officials say
TAMPA, Fla. - A Land O' Lakes man faces charges after he drove intoxicated with a one-year-old as a passenger, then crashed his vehicle into a patrol car, according to the sheriff's office.
Hillsborough County deputies said they were assisting the Florida Highway Patrol on an unrelated crash early Tuesday morning. A marked HCSO vehicle was being used to block traffic on one lane of Nebraska Avenue, near Bearss Avenue.
Around 1 a.m., they said 29-year-old Donald Leon Whitfield was heading south on Nebraska Avenue and struck the front left side of the patrol vehicle. Deputies said Whitfield's Oldsmobile Alero was damaged and the airbag was deployed.
A one-year-old child was in a car seat sitting in the back of the vehicle when the crash occurred, but was uninjured, deputies said. The child was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital as a precaution.
Deputies said Whitfield showed signs of impairment, and was arrested for DUI, child neglect and driving with a suspended license. His breath sample was 0.171 BAC.
"This driver's irresponsible decision to drive intoxicated not only put the lives of our deputies and other drivers at risk but also the life of an innocent young child," said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a statement. "What's worse is that his prior arrest for DUI shows he has made these poor choices in the past."
County court records show Whitfield has a prior DUI arrest in 2019.