Tampa man, riding lawn mower on SR 589 from Citrus County into Hernando County, charged with DUI

Photos courfesy of FHP.

Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Troop C

Around 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning, July 18, 2025, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper was informed by FHP dispatch that the agency had received numerous calls reporting that a man was driving a lawn mower, in an erratic manner, traveling south on the Suncoast Parkway toll road (State Road 589), from Citrus County, Florida, and he was about to enter Hernando County, Florida.

The FHP trooper monitored the driving pattern and location of the reported man, using Florida 511 traffic cameras, and visually confirmed the man's erratic operation of the lawn mower, which was consistent with the reports called in to FHP dispatch by the concerned witnesses.

At approximately 8:52 a.m., the FHP trooper observed a man sitting on a zero-turn riding lawn mower on the southbound shoulder of State Road 589, near mile marker 55, just south of U.S. Highway 98.

When the trooper spoke with the man, who was identified as 38 year-old Christopher John Spain, of Tampa, Florida, he noted several indicators of impairment, which he detailed as "pinpoint pupils, flushed skin, dry mouth, and visible irritation to the inside of his nose." The trooper noted that Spain repeatedly cleared his throat, sniffled, and spat, and a small straw he saw protruding from his back pocket is an item commonly used to sniff illicit substances into the nose.

The trooper requested that Spain perform roadside sobriety testing, and he attempted to administer one test three times before Spain became uncooperative and declined to participate further in the testing.

The trooper determined that he had probable cause to believe that Spain was operating a vehicle while impaired, and placed him under arrest. At 8:50 a.m., Spain was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and transported to the Hernando County Jail, in Brooksville, Florida (Hernando County). Spain was booked into the jail at 9:51 a.m. At the jail, Spain refused to provide a urine sample for sobriety testing, according to his arrest report.

Spain's bond was set at $1,000; a condition of his bond was that he cannot go to any bars.