St. Cloud officer struck by teacher accused of driving drunk

ST. CLOUD, Fla. — WFTV learned a St. Cloud High School teacher was arrested on charges of DUI, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries.

Police said Ryan Chase, 26, was arrested on his own block last week while they were working on a separate investigation in the neighborhood.

They said Chase sped by even though they shined a flashlight at him, and clipped an officer with his SUV.

Officials said the officer is going to be OK.

They said Chase pulled into his garage, closed the door, but opened it after an officer yelled at him to come out.

Students said Chase is a good teacher, and the arrest is surprising.

“I think that was kind of stupid because he shouldn’t be driving drunk,” said student Larissa Hepler.

Police said Chase smelled of alcohol, had slurred and slowed speech, had a hard time standing, and had a beer in the front seat of his car.

Chase reportedly refused to take a chemical Breathalyzer test and field sobriety exercises.

Chase didn’t answer when Channel 9’s Jeff Deal knocked on his door to get his side of the story.

“He should definitely be jailed and he should definitely lose his job,” said neighbor Hubert Shippey.

So far, the school district hasn’t taken any action against him, but he’s not due back in the classroom until August.

WFTV