SARASOTA COUNTY -- An unlicensed teenager was arrested Tuesday on charges of hit-and-run and driving under the influence after he crashed into a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office vehicle on Interstate 75 and ran away, the Sheriff's Office says.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Roberto Garcia, 18, of Immokalee crashed into a Sheriff's Office animal services van at about 10 p.m. on I-75 near mile marker 186 in North Port. The van rolled over and was was totaled. Garcia, who fled the scene on foot, was tracked to a nearby wooded area and arrested.
Deputies found an empty beer bottle in Garcia's vehicle and observed signs of impairment.
The animal services officer was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. There were no animals inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Garcia, who is charged with driving under the influence with damage to property, driving under the influence with personal injury, hit and run and driving without a license, is being held in the Sarasota County jail on $500 bail.