Man arrested for collision with patrol car

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – A man was arrested after he collided with a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle while driving while intoxicated, troopers said.

A trooper was investigating another accident on southbound I-75, about a mile south of State Road 54, when a vehicle veered out of its lane and side-swept the right side of his patrol car around 2:15 a.m. Sunday.

Officers said the driver, Elmer Perez Ramirez, smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech and had bloodshot, watery eyes. According to his arrest report, the 23-year-old man told officers he had been drinking earlier in the day.

Perez Ramirez “performed poorly” on sobriety exercises and was arrested for drunk driving.