A 23-year-old man who registered nearly three times the legal blood alcohol content limit was arrested after allegedly leading a Marion County deputy on a high-speed chase on Interstate 75 that ended after the deputy successfully executed a precision immobilization technique maneuver.
On Sunday, July 21, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to I-75 after receiving reports of a “possible drunk driver” heading southbound on the interstate from the Alachua County line. The vehicle was described as a white pickup truck with a Kansas license plate, according to the arrest report.
While on the interstate, the deputy spotted the pickup truck traveling southbound in the inside lane. The deputy noted in the report that the vehicle began to swerve on the roadway, and the deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The driver, later identified as Cody Ludwig Vetter, continued traveling southbound on I-75 and began driving on the outside shoulder. His vehicle then entered the middle lane before accelerating, according to the report.
The high-speed chase continued in the outside lane as Vetter allegedly continued traveling at a high rate of speed. The report stated that the pickup truck eventually slowed down as it neared the exit ramp to Highway 27, and the deputy successfully conducted a precision immobilization technique (P.I.T.) maneuver, ending the pursuit.
Shortly after making contact with the driver and sole occupant of the pickup truck, Vetter, the deputy detected the “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.” Vetter was placed under arrest and transported to Marion County Jail, according to the report.
While seated in the back of an MCSO patrol vehicle, Vetter asked, “What is the problem here?” After the deputy explained that Vetter had led the deputy on a several-mile pursuit on I-75, Vetter claimed that he “did not run from (the deputy),” according to video footage released by the sheriff’s office.
Shortly after arriving at the jail, Vetter agreed to perform multiple field sobriety exercises, which he failed. The report stated that he then provided breath samples that revealed a blood alcohol content of .232 and .225, approximately three times the legal limit.
A search of Vetter’s pickup up truck was conducted, and law enforcement found a cooler in the front passenger seat that contained “empty (Landshark) beer glasses, a High Noon and a (NUTRL) Vodka Seltzer drink,” according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, Vetter told the deputy that he had consumed “three to five beers” while he was canoeing in Alachua County.
Vetter was booked into Marion County Jail, and he was released three days later after posting a $6,000 bond. He is being charged with fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher.
Jail records show that Vetter is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20.