Volusia fire lieutenant arrested on DUI charges

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 has learned a veteran Volusia County fire lieutenant has been arrested on charges of drunken driving.

Police said Volusia County Fire Services Lt. Thomas McDonough was driving twice the speed limit when he was pulled over on Beville Road.

"Is there any reason for why you were going so fast?" the officer asked McDonough.

"We were just playing around. Nothing in particular, just fooling off," McDonough told the officer.

Police said they first spotted McDonough on Ridgewood Avenue and that the officer did a U-turn to pull him over as he was turning west on Beville Road.   In the dashcam video, the officer can be heard telling his colleague that he had trouble keeping up with McDonough.

"I got up to about 70 mph. I looked at my speedometer, I was doing 70 mph and he was still pulling away from me," the officer can be heard saying.

Officers said McDonough had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.

"Have you had anything to drink tonight?" the officer asked.

"I have," said McDonough.

"How many drinks have you had?" the officer asked.

"Not sure. A couple of beers," said McDonough.

McDonough was arrested after completing field sobriety exercises. He refused to take a Breathalyzer test, officers said.

WFTV