KENDALL, Fla. – Omar Fernandez, the Civilian Division Chief for the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, was arrested earlier this week on DUI charges following a car crash in Kendall, jail records show.
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Records show Fernandez, 50, was booked into jail early Monday morning on charges of DUI and DUI causing damage to property or a person.
He was released from jail later that morning.
According to his arrest report, the crash occurred late Sunday night in the area of Southwest 88th Street and Mills Drive in Kendall.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said they arrived at the scene and found a white Toyota Camry in the intersection that had been involved in a crash with a Hyundai Palisade SUV.
Fernandez was found sleeping in the front passenger seat of the Camry, but the woman who had been driving the SUV told troopers that he was the person behind the wheel of the Camry when the crash occurred, the report stated.
According to the report, a trooper woke up Fernandez and asked him what happened.
Fernandez’s speech was “slurred, mumbled and incoherent,” his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage, the report stated.
Troopers said Fernandez agreed to perform field sobriety exercises, which he failed to perform successfully.
According to the arrest report, he also agreed to submit to Breathalyzer tests, with the results being .236 and .231.
Fernandez was taken to HCA Florida Doral Emergency to be medically cleared before he was booked into jail, authorities said.
“In accordance with department protocol, the employee was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation,” MDCR said in a statement.