ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Florida Highway Patrol troopers say an Apopka fire captain crashed a brand new motorcycle Wednesday night. Troopers are investigating it as a drunk driving accident, but it could take weeks before the alcohol blood tests come back in the case.
Eyewitnesses say they watched Captain Raymond Thompson stumble and drop his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Just minutes later, he crashed near some construction barrels on Shopke Lester Road.
Thompson was coming down Lester Road, which is closed for construction, and, for whatever reason, could not navigate a 90-degree turn and lost control.
Firefighters arrived at the scene to find one of their own. Thompson, a 17-year veteran of the Apopka Fire Department, is now under investigation, suspected of riding his motorcycle while under the influence.
"Law enforcement and fire personnel see these types of crashes every day and we know driving and alcohol don't mix," said Trooper Kim Miller.
It was actually Thompson's second wreck Wednesday night. After the first, a few miles away, two eyewitnesses noticed he seemed dazed and incoherent. They tried to give him a ride home, but he refused. A few minutes later, they happened upon his brand new Harley on its side in the dirt.
When troopers arrived at the hospital, they say Thompson seemed so impaired, they had trouble waking him up to discuss the crash. It was just one reason, they say, they drew blood to test for alcohol.
"We can't just draw blood on somebody just because they've been involved in a crash. So we have to have those factors in place before we prepare for a blood draw," explained Miller.
Troopers say it's possible Thompson wasn't impaired. The test results won't come back for about six weeks. Right now, they know only one thing for sure.
"This man's very lucky. We're thankful this was a minor crash and no one was seriously injured," said Miller.
One of the eyewitnesses, who helped Thompson the first time he crashed and found him the second time, said it never crossed his mind that Thompson might be drunk. Still, troopers said they did have enough probable cause for the blood test. The blood test, they said, does not lie.
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