An Ocala man who was found slumped over the steering wheel of a running pickup truck parked in the middle of a roadway outside of a local residence was arrested on a DUI charge after allegedly blowing nearly four times the legal blood alcohol content limit.
On Tuesday, February 25, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a home located on SW 32nd Lane in Ocala in reference to an unconscious person in a vehicle. The deputy arrived on scene and made contact with paramedics who advised that a man, later identified as Chad Michael Petro, was slumped over in the driver’s seat of a Ram pickup truck, according to the arrest report.
The deputy noted that paramedics approached the pickup truck and banged on the driver’s side window several times until Petro woke up. The paramedics noticed that that vehicle was still in drive, and they instructed Petro to place it in park.
Petro “smelled of alcohol” and appeared to have difficulty speaking with the paramedics. The report stated that the paramedics detained Petro until law enforcement arrived on scene.
According to the report, the pickup truck was parked in the middle of the roadway in a local neighborhood. A resident of a nearby home provided photos to law enforcement, which showed the pickup truck stopped in the middle of the roadway and a man, Petro, who was “slumped over” in the driver’s seat.
A deputy made contact with Petro and observed that his eyes were “red [and] watery.” Petro’s balance also appeared to be unsteady, and he refused to participate in field sobriety exercises, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, Petro refused to discuss the incident, and he was arrested and placed into the back of an MCSO patrol vehicle. The report stated that he “repeatedly asked what county he was in and where he was.”
Petro agreed to provide a breath sample, which revealed a .294 blood alcohol concentration. This is more than three times over the legal limit of .08 in Florida.
A computer search of Petro revealed that his driver’s license was revoked in 2022 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Petro was transported to Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (0.15 or higher).
A court date for Petro has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.