MIRAMAR BEACH — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a man who had been pulled over for suspected drunken driving were injured Friday night when a motorist rammed the trooper’s patrol car into them while they were standing along U.S. Highway 98, according to the FHP.
The driver who hit the trooper’s car was charged with DUI, the FHP reported
Eddy Hardy, 41, of Panama City, was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, according to a news release from the FHP. Trooper Lester Abreu was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, where he was treated and released.
Hardy and Abreu were standing in front Abreu’s car at 11:10 p.m. near the intersection of Sandestin Boulevard after Abreu stopped Hardy for suspected drunken driving, the FHP reported. Abreu’s car’s emergency lights were activated, according to the FHP.
Raul Sivas, 34, of Niceville was driving a 2002 Jeep west on U.S. 98 when he struck the rear of Abreu’s car, which then hit Abreu and Hardy, the FHP reported.
Sivas, who was not seriously hurt, was charged with DUI with serious bodily injury, drive while license suspended or revoked and failure to use due care. He was taken to the Walton County Jail.