JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida Highway Patrol lieutenant suffered serious facial and leg injuries Friday when an F-150 pickup rear-ended her parked cruiser near the south end of the Buckman Bridge.
According to a DUI arrest report obtained by News4Jax, the driver of the truck was found slumped over the wheel, unconscious, with a bag of white powder on the floor that later tested positive for amphetamines.
A trooper gave the driver, 31-year-old for Brian Kendig, four doses of Narcan to bring him around, and he failed a field sobriety test and refused to provide a urine sample, the arrest report stated.
Troopers said Kendig was driving a Silver F-150 on the Buckman Bridge heading toward Mandarin on Friday when he hit a concrete barrier and side-swiped another truck before veering off the road near the end of the bridge and hitting the FHP patrol car.
According to Sgt. Dylan Bryan, the trooper, a 10-year veteran, was conducting a traffic stop on the right shoulder of the I-295 when her cruiser was hit. She was inside the vehicle at the time.
The FHP lieutenant was treated for serious injuries and released from the hospital. She is on leave while she recovers at home. News4Jax is not naming her.
Kendig was charged with DUI with injury and DUI with property damage, as well as drug possession. His bond was set at $15,000 and he has since bonded out of jail. He’s expected back in court next month for his arraignment.