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Lake County prosecutor resigns after suspected drunken driving incident

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A veteran Lake County prosecutor who has been honored in the past by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for her work on DUI cases has stepped down after she was suspected of crashing her vehicle while under the influence.

Officials with the Tavares Police Department said the vehicle of SaraJane Olson was found last week in a ditch sitting on top of a fence at Blugill Drive and Burleigh Boulevard.

Channel 9 obtained police records that show two drivers called to report the incident, with one describing Olson as being "extremely" drunk based on their interaction.

"Our officers do believe she was drunk," said Sgt. Sara Cousey. "It's our department's stance that she was drinking, but we couldn't put her behind the wheel."

Cousey also said that Olson told officials she wasn't sure how her car arrived there. The police report, however, lists Olson as the driver of the vehicle.

It was also discovered that Olson was scheduled to teach a class at Lake Technical College from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. the night of the crash. The police report places Olson at the scene of the crash around 10:10 p.m.

Olson was Lake County prosecutor for 15 years before being moved to work sex crimes and child abuse cases six months ago.

Tavares police said that there were no video files on the two officers' dashcams the day of the incident and that Olson was not given a pass because of her position.

A DUI attorney told Channel 9 that it's "highly unusual" not to do field sobriety tests, especially considering Olson was the only one there and the calls placed to dispatch from witnesses.

Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said that case couldn't be tried because there was no field sobriety test performed.

Olson's husband, who is also a Lake County prosecutor, declined comment when Channel 9 stopped by their home.

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