No explanation offered as to why drunk driver was dragging tree behind his truck

A Florida police officer was sitting in a parked cruiser late on Monday night when an approaching truck caught his attention.

It could have been that the truck was speeding, perhaps it was the loud noise and the sparks that were flying from the rear as a chain bounced off the asphalt. Or maybe it was the tree that the driver was dragging as he drove along. The officer stopped the driver, later identified as Daniel Totulis, 21, of Gainesville, at around 11am at the entrance to the Apple Tree subdivision.



Totulis had glassy eyes, slurred speech and a strong odour of alcohol, according to a police report. Totulis told officers that he wanted to take a test to see if he was drunk. The officers conducted a field sobriety test and Totulis swayed while trying to stand, missed his nose with his finger two out of four times, and refused to walk a straight line.

During the test, Totulis told the officers to take him to jail because he knew he should not have been drinking and driving. He offered no explanation for why he was dragging a tree down the street late at night. He was arrested on a charge of DUI after his breath tests registered .190 and .185, twice the legal threshold in Florida for DUI.