Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Blue lights in the rear view indicate a traffic stop to most people, but one Florida driver was so “oblivious” to a pursuing deputy that she tried to fill her gas tank — while being questioned, body cam video shows.
The confounding traffic stop happened around 3:30 a.m. Monday, July 8, at a Summerfield gas station, about a 65-mile drive northwest from Orlando.
A master sergeant with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office reports he saw an SUV on U.S. 441 “driving all over the road and in excess of 100 mph,” and he suspected the driver was intoxicated, officials said.
The patrol car had to drive at speeds of more than 110 mph to catch up to the vehicle, just as it was pulling into a Circle K , a report states. It was then the master sergeant realized “she was oblivious.”
“She didn’t even realize he was trying to conduct a traffic stop,” a report states. “She tried to exit the vehicle and pump her gas even though he explained to her he was doing a traffic stop.”
Body cam video shows the master sergeant had to order the woman not to remove her gas cap. “You’re not getting gas right now,” he is heard saying in the video.
Under questioning, the woman explained she didn’t stop earlier because she “didn’t notice” his flashing blue lights. “It’s so dark,” she says in the video.
The 34-year-old driver, who lives in nearby Weirsdale, submitted to a field sobriety exercise and was charged with driving under the influence. She was taken to jail and agreed to a breath sample test, which tested at, officials said.
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