October 8, 2012
Police: Driver in fatal crash had alcohol level 3 times the legal limit
By Florida Today
A Brevard judge this afternoon ordered that a man suspected of drunken driving in a crash that killed another man Sunday will be held in jail without bond.
Charges against Noe Mejia-Chacon, 22, come after a trio of crashes in West Melbourne and Palm Bay on Sunday, including one wreck that killed a 91-year-old man. Mejia-Chacon faces charges of driving under the influence, driving without a license and hit and run.
Prosecutors said during an initial appearance at the jail in Sharpes this afternoon that Mejia-Chacon may not be a citizen and asked for additional time to gather information in the case. They said police reports available today did not include information that one of the men wounded in the series of crashes had died, but only that he was seriously injured.
Sgt. Kim Montes, a spokeswoman for Florida Highway Patrol, said Mejia-Chacon had a blood alcohol content of 0.223 percent according to a test of his breath after the crashes. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
The fatal crash occurred at 11:33 a.m. Sunday on Eber Boulevard at Coventry Circle in West Melbourne. Florida Highway Patrol investigators said Mejia-Chacon was driving a 2000 Dodge SUV and was trying to pass another vehicle when the Dodge hit an oncoming 1994 Plymouth car.
Police said a passenger in the Plymouth, Joseph Williams, of West Melbourne, died after the crash at Holmes Regional Medical Center. The driver of the car, identified as Wayne Williams, 60, of West Melbourne, was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Officials said Mejia-Chacon was involved in two other crashes prior to the fatal wreck.
A Landmark at Ocean Breeze Apartments resident called police and reported that a driver had struck multiple vehicles in the parking lot, Melbourne Police Lt. Byron Barnes said.
The driver pulled out of the parking lot onto Palm Bay Road, turned west and collided with a vehicle at the nearby Dairy Road intersection, Barnes said. Then the motorist drove north on Dairy Road, turned west onto Eber Boulevard and got into the fatal head-on wreck.
Photo: An impaired driver was involved in three crashes Sunday morning — and the final head-on wreck killed a passenger in another vehicle, Melbourne Police Lt. Byron Barnes said. / For FLORIDA TODAY
