Man drives into the water; arrested for DUI

Cudjoe Key – A 26 year old Cudjoe Key resident drove his vehicle into the water early today; he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

A witness told Deputy Andrew Hudson and Sgt. Tom Walker he followed Colby Covington’s truck from Big Pine Key, fearing he was impaired. He said as he approached the Kemp Channel Bridge at 12:30 a.m., the truck he was following disappeared. He slowed to see what happened and he saw a vehicle’s headlights in the water. Minutes later, he saw Covington climb out of the water.

When the officers arrived, Covington refused to give them any information. When told to stand up, he refused. On his way to Deputy Hudson’s patrol car, he stumbled and had to have help getting into the car. He refused field sobriety exercises and, once at the jail, refused to take a breath test for alcohol content. Sitting in a chair at the jail, he wet his pants and refused to cooperate with jail booking officers.

Finally, when confronted with threats of being put in a restraint chair at the jail, he began to cooperate with booking procedures. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended driver’s license and failure to maintain a single lane.