Three traffic crashes on W. Dunnellon Rd.; 2nd crash by CCSO deputy; 3rd crash by DUI driver

Citrus County, Florida - According to a press release by the Florida Highway Patrol, early Satuday morning, September 18, at 1:50 am, a Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) patrol car, in emergency response to a call for service, traveled over standing water, which caused the deputy to lose control of his patrol car and collide with a disabled, unoccupied vehicle that was still at the location - W. Dunnellon Rd., east of W. Rainbow St. in the Dunnellon/Crystal River, FL area - due to an earlier crash.

The CCSO patrol vehicle, a 2017 Ford Taurus sedan, driven by a 40 year-old male CCSO deputy from Inverness, FL, was traveling west on W. Dunnellon Rd. The disabled sports utility vehicle, a 2008 Ford Expedition, was parked, facing east, on the right shoulder of W. Dunnellon Rd.

After impact, the patrol car came to rest in the center of the roadway, and the disabled vehicle remained on the south shoulder of the road. The lights of the patrol vehicle were activated due to it being disabled within the roadway.

At 2:18 am, the driver of a 2018 Toyota Tundra piciup truck, traveling east on W. Dunnellon Rd., failed to observe the disabled patrol car within the roadway, even though its emergency lights were activated, and as a result, the left side of the pickup truck sideswiped the left side of the patrol car.

Following this crash, the pickup truck came to a controlled stop. FHP troopers later determined that the driver of the pickup truck, 49 year-old Callum Mansfield of Dunnellon, FL, was impaired. His breath alcohol test result was 0.211 (the legal limit for alcohol is 0.08).

The press release stated that Mr. Mansfield, who suffered minor inhuries, was arrested, charged with careless driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol with property damage.