The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Key West man on Thursday for a DUI after he rear-ended another vehicle and then attempted to drive away.
Ronald Valentin, 32, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, DUI and DUI with a blood alcohol level over .08.
Around 9:53 p.m., a deputy patrolling Stock Island saw a motorist standing in the middle of the roadway checking damage to the rear of their vehicle. After speaking with the motorist, the deputy learned that a driver of a blue Toyota had just hit the motorist’s truck moments before he pulled up. The deputy spotted the Toyota on the other side of the intersection and conducted a traffic stop. The Toyota also matched the description of a vehicle that crashed into a parked trailer on 3rd Avenue and left the scene.
After being stopped, deputies identified the driver as Valentin. According to the report, Valentin appeared intoxicated, both in physical appearance and in behavior. Furthermore, he couldn’t provide details of how the recent traffic incident occurred. He denied crashing into the trailer on 3rd Avenue.
The motorist on scene explained that he was sitting at the traffic stop when Valentin rear-ended him. According to the motorist, Valentin got out of his vehicle after the crash, but left the scene as soon as the light turned green.
A witness arrived on scene from the 3rd Avenue crash, who identified Valentin’s Toyota as the vehicle at fault. However, the witness couldn’t verify if Valentin was driving or not.
Valentin denied consuming any alcohol or taking any drugs. However, he continued to act erratically, including answering deputies’ questions with unrelated answers. When asked when he last ate, Valentin stated Aug. 20, 1985.
Deputies arrested Valentin for suspected DUI, and took him to the DUI room at the Monroe County Detention Center. There, Valentin’s breath sample showed his BAC to be .253. According to the report, Valentin became aggressive once learning about the breath test result.
Valentin was placed in jail, but he was released the following day.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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