07/22/12 Palm Beach, FL – Drunk Leaving Concert Steals Unmarked Police SUV – Crosses Lanes And Crashes Into Taxi
July 22, 2012
tcpalm.com
A half-mile joy ride in an unmarked Palm Beach County sheriff’s SUV near the Cruzan Amphitheatre early Saturday landed a 30-year-old Vero Beach man in the Palm Beach County Jail.Jason Andrew Amstutz, 30, is facing charges of driving under the influence, grand vehicle theft, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer without violence, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office records show. No bond information was available for him.
Amstutz was one of thousands of patrons at the amphitheater off Southern Boulevard for a Dave Matthews Band concert. When the show ended around midnight, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies were directing traffic on Southern near Fairgrounds Road — and saw an unmarked sheriff’s Chevy Tahoe speed away in the wrong direction in the westbound lanes, a sheriff’s office report said.
A deputy chased the SUV and saw it jump the median several times before crashing into a westbound taxi cab at Sansbury’s Way.
Amstutz suffered abrasions to his knuckles and arms during the crash and was taken to Wellington Regional Medical Center for treatment. He told investigators he had no idea that he had either stolen a sheriff’s vehicle or crashed it into a taxi cab.
He refused to offer a blood sample or speak about the incident, the report said.
Amstutz was one of thousands of patrons at the amphitheater off Southern Boulevard for a Dave Matthews Band concert. When the show ended around midnight, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies were directing traffic on Southern near Fairgrounds Road — and saw an unmarked sheriff’s Chevy Tahoe speed away in the wrong direction in the westbound lanes, a sheriff’s office report said.
A deputy chased the SUV and saw it jump the median several times before crashing into a westbound taxi cab at Sansbury’s Way.
Amstutz suffered abrasions to his knuckles and arms during the crash and was taken to Wellington Regional Medical Center for treatment. He told investigators he had no idea that he had either stolen a sheriff’s vehicle or crashed it into a taxi cab.
He refused to offer a blood sample or speak about the incident, the report said.