DUI suspect drives without lights, hits pole

A suspected drunk driver crashed into an electric pole early Wednesday morning while driving without his headlights on, a report states.

The crash was witnessed by a deputy who was trying to catch up with the pickup for the headlight infraction. She said the truck ran off the roadway at the intersection of California Street and Forzando Avenue, turned sideways and struck the pole.

When the deputy approached the truck, the driver, Louis Chapman, 40, was sitting in the passenger seat and trying to claim that the real driver had fled on foot, a report states.

Having seen the crash from start to finish, the deputy doubted the story.

Another deputy performed field sobriety tests, which Chapman reportedly failed. He was taken to the county jail on charges of DUI, DUI with property damage and reportedly provided a blood alcohol level of .145 and .141. Florida law presumes intoxication at .08.

Staggering woman gets drug charge

SPRING HILL A woman staggering along Higate Road was arrested Wednesday after a deputy said he found prescription drugs in her purse.

Authorities were alerted to the suspect's behavior and said they found Leslie Osteen stumbling near the intersection of Springwood Road. A search of her purse yielded the prescription muscle relaxer carisoprodol, but Osteen did not have a prescription, a report states.

Osteen, 25, was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.