Driver Arrested For DUI Following Highway 97 Crash (Updated)

January 26, 2018

[Updated with details 10 a.m.] A Century man with a blood alcohol level almost two and a half times the legal limit was arrested for driving under the influence following an injury crash on Highway 97 Thursday evening.

The accident happened about 5:30 p.m. on Highway 97 near Gibson Road near Molino.

The Florida Highway Patrol said 46-year old Linda Faye Till of Molino was traveling south on Highway 97 when her 2017 Toyota was rear-ended by a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by 53-year old Benjamin Frank Ard. After the initial collision, the vehicles were being moved off the roadway when Ard rear-ended the car a second time, according to troopers.

Linda Till and her passenger, Brian Aubrey Till, were transported by Escambia County EMS to Atmore Community Hospital for their injuries.

Ard and his passenger, Lorenzo Knight of Walnut Hill, were not injured.

Ard had a blood alcohol level of .197, according to a FHP report, above the legal limit of .08. He was charged with driving under the influence and cited for careless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $1,000.

Further details have not been released as the FHP continues their investigation.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.

Comments

13 Responses to “Driver Arrested For DUI Following Highway 97 Crash (Updated)”

  1. Willis on January 26th, 2018 3:48 pm

    @ retired..
    And it’s not a high crime area….

  2. retired on January 26th, 2018 2:24 pm

    Maybe Sheriff Morgan could send some of the traffic units up there. OOOOOOH I forgot they only work 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, except for parades

  3. Ben on January 26th, 2018 11:04 am

    His bond is low but trust me, he will pay. Even if this is his first offense he’s looking at over a years license suspension, impound his vehicle, DUI School, MADD class’s, minimum of a year probation in which he’ll have to pay for monthly, court costs, fines, more than 50 hours community service, insurance will probably drop him since he had an accident, and a few other things. Without a lawyer and just pleading guilty he’s looking at $7500 and up. If it’s his second then double that and the hours everything else. Florida is hard on DUI.

  4. shaking my head on January 26th, 2018 10:34 am

    This means that it only took $100 to bail him out. How about charging him with attempted murder and attempted vehicular manslaughter…

  5. scott on January 26th, 2018 9:57 am

    @Gary — Highway 97 does not drive; people do. People who make a decision to drink and drive are far more dangerous than Highway 97 will ever be.

  6. Daily driver of 97 on January 26th, 2018 9:37 am

    I came up on this wreck on my way home last night. I pray no one was seriously injured. There have been a lot of wrecks lately on Hwy97. The only thing I can figure is pure recklessness and stupidity/ ignorance. Be responsible folks! If you set your cruise control on the speed limit and pay attention to the other drivers, there should be no accidents on this road. Oh and DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!!! I know someone who went to prison for 3 years because of this EXACT same thing. No priors but was under the influence and caused injury to the other driver and the DA made an example of him. If you can make it through Hwy 29 without an accident, you damn sure should be able to get through highway 97! Just my opinion.

  7. BILL on January 26th, 2018 8:43 am

    same thing it will never change !!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8. Dot on January 26th, 2018 8:43 am

    Drunks are a scourge just like the DRUG alcohol

  9. Charlotte on January 26th, 2018 8:35 am

    It’s not the road that is dangerous, it’s the drivers that drive while drunk. Or not paying attention, or texting and so forth.

  10. anne 1of2 on January 26th, 2018 8:30 am

    That amount of bond won’t keep drunks off the road! That’s not even a slap on the hand.

  11. just listening on January 26th, 2018 8:17 am

    Well—I though a DUI was serious. Caused all this damage and could have been a life. Hardly worth the effort to take him Jail. The Cops should have just told him to go on and do better. The Judge should have just let him off on his good looks and charm or even the hair on his arms. The paper work is not worth the time and effort. just saying

  12. Whisperjet on January 26th, 2018 6:54 am

    ….$1000 bond…out of jail with pocket change..and that accident could have just as easily been a deadly head-on crash with fatalities…go figure….

  13. Gary on January 26th, 2018 6:13 am

    AGAIN!!!! A wreck on 97. When will this madness stop? As I have said previously, Highway 97 is DANGEROUS. A $1000 bond. Tough on drunk drivers, huh?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News