UNIVERSITY, Fla. (CBS12) — Bodycam video shows a Florida driver caught in a deadly crash scene asking to redo his failed DUI test after driving on a sidewalk.
What was supposed to be a secured, active fatal crash scene early Sunday morning turned into a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were investigating a traffic fatality around 3 a.m. on Sunday near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and North 43rd Street. Marked patrol cars with emergency lights blazing were explicitly blocking the road.
That didn’t stop a blue Kia Sportage with 29-year-old Leela Padileti behind the wheel.
Deputies say Padileti casually mounted the sidewalk to bypass the barricade, cruising straight into the middle of the active crime scene before deputies managed to box him in.
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When questioned on camera, Padileti’s story unravelled quickly. He initially told deputies he was coming back from seeing a friend in St. Petersburg and insisted he hadn’t been drinking. Moments later, he corrected himself: “No, we went to the club… we had some drinks.”
Things escalated during the field sobriety exercises.
After Padileti struggled through the test, deputies moved in to slap on the handcuffs. That’s when a bewildered Padileti expressed genuine shock.
“Oh… I thought I completed it,” Padileti said, before asking, “Can I try it again?”
“No,” a deputy responded flatly.
Padileti was hauled off to jail and is now facing a count of driving under the influence.