x
Breaking News
More () »

JSO: Jacksonville man charged with DUI after crashing into food truck, causing 3rd-degree burns for owner

Officers at the hospital reported they located a 1/2 empty bottle of Bacardi Rum inside Johnson's vehicle at the scene.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (Editor's Note: The video above is from a previous report)

A Jacksonville man has been charged with multiple offenses after police say he crashed into multiple vehicles while intoxicated, one of which included a food truck.

The owner of the food truck was inside the vehicle during the crash and suffered third degree burns all over his body, he tells First Coast News.

On Saturday, Robert Virgil Johnson, 62, was charged with DUI, DUI involving serious bodily injury, seven counts of DUI involving property damage or personal injury and reckless driving.

A report from the Jacksonville Police Department says around 5:27 p.m. an officer responded to UF Health Shands in response to a possible impaired driver who was taken there from the scene of a car crash.

Officers at the hospital reported that they located a 1/2 empty bottle of Bacardi Rum inside Johnson's vehicle at the scene.

While speaking with Johnson at the hospital, police say they observed Johnson to have red, bloodshot eyes. When asked about the accident, police say Johnson told them he is diabetic, and he blacked out.

A nurse told police that the suspect's blood sugar level was not high enough to have caused a diabetic episode or to have caused him to black out, the arrest report says.

Police say, based on the accounts of multiple people, Johnson was travelling north on Lem Turner Road when he approached another vehicle from behind very quickly and struck the back of it.

Police say Johnson then swerved left, crossing into the lanes of traffic coming in the opposite direction, then swerved back to the right, going over a curb and into a parking lot where a food truck was parked.

Police say Johnson smashed into the food truck, leaving two people inside injured. 

One of the men inside A & D Wings Food Truck, Shedrick Rogers, tells First Coast News he is thankful to be alive. 

Rogers is suffering third degree burns all over his body. He explains that hot grease splattered all over him as the pick-up truck hit his food truck.

RELATED: North Jacksonville food truck owner thankful to be alive after truck crashes into his food truck

Johnson was discharged from the hospital shortly after his initial arrival, according to the police report.

The officer who took him to the jail said while Johnson was being transported in the back seat of a JSO vehicle, "he kept burping and when he did so, the cabin of my vehicle filled with the smell of an alcoholic beverage."

Credit: JSO
Robert Virgil Johnson, 62

RELATED: DUI expert finds it odd Jacksonville police didn't ask if firefighter was drinking the night of hit-and-run crash

RELATED: Yes, a Tennessee bill would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent

RELATED: Bond for driver charged with DUI with a child in the car set at over $95,000

Before You Leave, Check This Out