VERO BEACH — A 21-year-old drunk man was arrested after he rammed his car into a cement divider and a city crosswalk pole while his 2-year-old son was in the backseat, police officers said.
Christopher Patrick O’Brien, of the 1700 block of 24th Avenue, Vero Beach, was charged with driving under the influence with property damage or personal injury, driving with a suspended license with knowledge, fail to register motor vehicle and child abuse.
Christopher O’Brien PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF”S OFFICE
He is being held at the Indian River County Jail on $8,000 bond.
Police responded to a report of a car that hit a city pole about 9 p.m. Saturday in the 400 block of 21st Street. Officers spoke with a witness who told them he heard a crash and went to help out.
The witness said when he got to the car, he noticed the driver was impaired and that there was a child in the backseat. Officers spoke with another witness who said he saw the driver, later identified as O’Brien, earlier take off at a high rate of speed at a light at Royal Palm Pointe and Indian River Boulevard.
When O’Brien approached the light at 21st Street, he made a hard right turn, causing him to strike the cement divider. The impact jolted the car into the air and it struck and knocked down a city crosswalk pole.
Officers later discovered there was no tag assigned to the vehicle and that O’Brien had a suspended license.
O’Brien, who had bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcohol coming from his breath, admitted to police he earlier drank two shots of Tito’s Vodka while at Mulligan’s Beach House restaurant with his son.
O’Brien was arrested and taken to the county jail for booking.
