Police Say Driver's Blood-Alcohol Level Was 3 Times Legal Limit

CLEARWATER, FL — A 20-year-old Eufala, Alabama, man has been charged with driving under the influence after tests determined he had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he crashed May 23 on the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue were called to the scene May 23 just after 3 p.m. when a car driven by Isidro Gomez Hernandez hurtled out of control and flipped over, shutting down the eastbound lanes of the causeway for several hours.

Hernandez was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa as a trauma alert with possible life-threatening injuries.

He was released from the hospital Friday and, on Tuesday, he was charged with DUI. Clearwater police said his blood-alcohol level was .224 percent. The legal limit in Florida is .08 percent.

Hernandez told an officer he consumed 10 12-ounce Modelo beers within an hour or two before getting behind the wheel. Multiple empty beer bottles were found in his vehicle.

See related story: 20-Year-Old Alabama Man Critical Following Crash On Causeway