Deputies: Drunk Driver Injured 2 Bicyclists

A 66-year-old Ruskin man faces driving under the influence charges after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say he plowed his 2002 Dodge van into two bicyclists on Rhodine Road Monday evening.

The accident in question happened around 8:30 p.m. as Freddy Ray Sloop was heading west on Rhodine Road doing about 40 mph, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media. Sloop failed to notice bicyclist Jason Saxe, 23, of Tampa, who was also traveling west.

Sloop’s van struck the back of the bicycle, ejecting Saxe and “causing serious trauma,” the email said. Saxe was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital where is remains in critical condition.

Saxe’s riding companion, Willie VanCleve of Riverview, 20, was also struck and suffered minor injuries, deputies say.

A DUI deputy responded to the scene and arrested Sloop, who agreed to breath testing. Sloop’s results were .127 and .129.

He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail Monday night and remained there Tuesday morning in lieu of $500 bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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