VERO BEACH — A 40-year-old intoxicated man was arrested after he was found unresponsive and lying on the ground at a funeral home, police said. His blood-alcohol level was found to be at least three times over the legal limit.
Eric Fournier was charged with driving under the influence. He is being held at the Indian River County Jail on $1,000 bond; his address and mugshot were not available.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, police went to the 1900 block of 20th Street in Vero Beach in response to a medical call. Police saw a man, later identified as Fournier, on the ground and not moving.
When the officer shook Fournier’s shoulder to see if he was awake, the officer smelled an alcoholic odor. Fournier then opened his eyes and said, “What man?” and then sat up, according to authorities.
The officer asked Fournier if he knew where he was and Fournier said “Yeah, I’m home man. What are you doing here?” The officer told Fournier he was at Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory.
Fournier began looking around and seemed very confused. He kept repeating “I’m fine man,” and tried to stand up. Emergency services officials arrived at the scene shortly after and treated Fournier, who refused to go to the hospital, police said.
The officer spoke with a second officer who arrived at the scene who had earlier been dispatched to a possible drunk driver. The description of the drunk driver’s vehicle, a white van, matched the vehicle seen in the funeral home parking lot.
The second officer spoke with two witnesses who said they saw Fournier behind the wheel of the white van. The van had the name RCJ Plumbing on the side of the van.
The first witness said she saw Fournier pull into the funeral parking lot in the white van, police said. She thought he was a delivery driver.
The second witness said she saw Fournier sitting in the white van before going inside the funeral home.
Fournier was taken to the county jail where he was given two breath samples that came back with a .283 and .292 blood-alcohol content level, police said. The legal limit for a motorist to be arrested on a DUI charge is either at or above 0.08, officials said.
Fournier was arrested and booked into the county jail.