JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to drivers on New Year’s Eve who choose to get behind the wheel after a night of drinking.
JSO sends this message to the community: Drive sober or get pulled over.
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“Lives are on the line. We hope you have a safe and happy New Year!”
The agency’s reminder was further emphasized because of a Thursday morning crash involving a man accused of driving under the influence and colliding into an officer’s vehicle on Dec. 26.
JSO said Patrol Officer H. Melvin activated his emergency lights and parked his patrol vehicle behind a disabled car on the Mathews Bridge to help two men change a tire.
Aleksandr Bratulin, 30, was driving a pickup truck when he slammed into the officer’s vehicle, “causing a chain-reaction crash that pinned one of the motorists between two vehicles,” JSO said.
The pickup truck continued rolling backward down the bridge. When Melvin caught up to the vehicle, he found Bratulin “slumped over the wheel” and a passenger also unconscious.
Two men were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, and Melvin suffered minor injuries.
Bartulin was arrested and faces six counts of DUI with property damage or personal injury, driving under the influence, careless driving and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle.
