A motorcyclist with critical injuries was airlifted to a hospital and a driver arrested on drunk driving and other charges Tuesday evening following a crash in front of the Post Office in Flagler Beach, at the intersection of South Daytona Avenue and South 3rd Street.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol investigation, Isaiah Macario Warren, 25, was driving a 2008 Ford westbound on South 3rd when he blew a stop sign. Brian Tiller, a 43-year-old resident of Flagler Beach, was riding a 2016 Yamaha motorcycle south on South Daytona Avenue. Warren’s vehicle struck Tiller’s motorcycle, ejecting Tiller and severely injuring one of his legs below the knee. An eyewitness described the crash to an FHP trooper.
Warren was sitting on a sidewalk curb when an FHP trooper arrived. An eyewitness told the trooper that he’d seen Warren earlier run to a private driveway and get rid of two Twisted Tea cans. The brand’s varieties range from alcohol content equivalent to the average beer up to the alcohol content of hard liquor. Beyond the brand name, the arrest report does not specify the kind Warren allegedly discarded. Troopers found the cans where the eyewitness had pointed.
Warren himself, the arrest report states, emanated an “odor consistent with an alcoholic beverage” while Warren’s eyes displayed glossiness and “dilated pupils.” A trooper also smelled the odor of pot. Warren told the trooper he had taken one sip of Twisted Tea, but acknowledged, regretfully, that he’d thrown away the cans. “I shouldn’t have thrown ’em,” he told the trooper, conceding that he was trying to hide them from police. He also told the trooper he had some pot in his pocket, but had last smoked it that morning. The crash took place a little before 8 p.m.
Warren carried out field sobriety exercises, leading the trooper to conclude that “it was evident that Mr. Warren’s normal faculties were impaired.” Warren volunteered two breathalizer tests. One of them produced a reading of 0.114, the other a reading of 0.107 percent alcohol by volume. The legal limit in Florida for drivers is 0.08 percent. He was placed under arrest and taken to the Flagler County jail. The vehicles were towed by Roger’s Towing, the Bunnell wrecker.
Warren’s jail booking lists an address on Raintree Place in Palm Coast (his driver’s license lists an address on Sedman Road in Hixon, Tenn.). At booking, he himself listed the Raintree Place address. He faces two third degree felony charges of drunk driving causing serious bodily injury and tampering with physical evidence, and three misdemeanors. Bond was set at $37,000 after his first court appearance.
Tiller was airlifted by Flagler County FireFlight to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach. “Per the last update from FHP, the driver of the motorcycle is in critical condition,” Flagler Beach police reported.
Tim says
People need to understand that driving is the equivalent of handling a gun. Safety is paramount. This guy might as well had a pistol loaded with one in the camber with the safety off and pointing it.
Jim says
Probably get probation, drug counseling, community service and time served. Meanwhile, Mr. Tiller likely has life-long disabilities, pain and other issues for the rest of his life.
I’m sure Warren doesn’t have any assets to help offset Mr. Tiller’s situation. I hope I’m wrong about that. Whatever he has, I hope Tiller gets it.
For what it’s worth, I see little difference between drunk drivers and the deaths and injuries they cause and idiots who shoot people with guns. I wish we treated them the same.
Skibum says
Just as I mentioned only yesterday in a related news article, DUI arrests where innocent motorists are killed or injured because of impaired drivers who are not only drunk but also high on marijuana are happening more and more often as the popularity of pot use grows. This latest DUI injury accident in Flagler Beach is a prime example of what happens when someone who has been smoking pot and drinking gets behind the wheel of an automobile. Why would we want to pass a law to make marijuana use by so many people in society even more common? We already know that impairment affects a person’s judgement, and I can tell you from years of experience that most intoxicated or high drivers that I arrested for DUI thought they were perfectly fine to be driving when that was definitely not the case. While marijuana use by someone who merely sits at home at enjoys smoking pot in the privacy of their home may be harmless, can we not all agree that drug use, as well as alcohol use, has been shown to affect one’s judgement and decision making? When the ability to make sound decisions is impaired, THAT, my friends, is when we find these same pot smoking individuals putting the car keys in their pocket, walking out of their house and taking the car somewhere because they are sure in their own mind that they are okay to drive, when in many cases, they are not and are instead a danger to anyone else on the road. That is why I am steadfast in opposition to any law that allows for the recreational use of marijuana.
Weed Killer says
SkiBum has the best point in this article Im a 50 year old male and dabbled in Pot in HighSchool Late 80’s but straightened out in college early 90’s. My point of view is interesting as I recently was invited to a party by a girlfriend of her friends and before a bowl was being passed around outside, I was encouraged to try the owner had a card it was “legal” from a local dispensary yes I succumbed to peer pressure and took a couple puffs of this pipe. OK Holy Shit. Whoa…We are not talking about the same drug between the “East Coast No High” sold by amateurs in a high school parking lot in 1989 to what ever in the hell that stuff was, my god… There was no way I could drive Hell I could barely walk and just chill at a beach house party, It was all I could do to maintain composure Im telling you the drug is so incredibly strong now in unbelievable they still just call that “pot”. Those 2 twisted Teas were certainly not the only ones to blow that just the cans he got busted with and did not help the inebriation but Strong Weed is 10 times worse than 2 teas, I had an ex who bought those they are pretty weak, But I implore all to vote against legalizing weed, If you are for it and haven’t tried what they are passing for “weed” now give some new school weed a try and ask yourself do I want to be on the same road as someone as High as me?
Skibum says
Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us. I hope people take the time to think about the potential tragic consequences of legalizing recreational pot.
Weed Killer says
Thank you for your decades of service. My experience was quite an eye opener as when I Was a teenager you bought I think an eighth of an ounce for $30 full of stems and seeds you had to remove and what remained was not strong. these new weed farms have trained botanists growing in controlled laboratory environments and producing the highest quality drug for maximum profit I was instantly regretful it completely ruined the night I had 2 miller lite cans prior and was having fun then two puffs and I was obliterated beyond anything I have ever experienced. At least with alcohol you have a resonable expectation of what you are buying its printed on the container and consuming not so with weed, or these edibles now who knows how potent a gummy or a brownie is? And with alcohol you can measure BAC with a breath test, I have one from Amazon in my car just to be safe Ill check BAC before I drive or get an uber. Im struggling already in this economy a DWI would destroy my finances and reputation. BUT How can you put a number legally on how high someone is? I see how California and colorado have gone downhill since they legalized marijuana I would hate to see florida go down this path as well. Flagler live how about a follow up and the condition of the Victim Mr. Tiller I hope they were able to save his leg.
Denali says
First there is no evidence presented that he had smoked anything. He admitted to smoking that morning. Second, you are against the passage of the marijuana bill on the basis of “what if’s”. This is not an acceptable argument any more than limiting gun sales on a what if basis. You would not stand for that but willingly condemn pot. Double standard? We have laws against impaired driving apply and enforce them. Otherwise you should be grandstanding against alcohol for the same reasons. You cannot have it both ways.
Charles says
Lock him up for good and throw the key away. Take away his drivers license.
JimboXYZ says
I rest my case from the article that came out about the 2024 recreational abuse vote that will be on the November 2024 ballot.
Pogo says
@A modest proposal (from a banned commenter)
State lawmakers shall pass a breathalyzer test before being permitted to cast a vote about anything.
dave says
The wild west of Flagler County. It just seems to get worse each year. From drinking while impaired, driving while texting, road rage, to drivers that just don’t care drive our courts do not provide a sentence that brings deternets to committing crimes. Stop slapping wrist. Do something, huge fines and a little jail time.
Concerned Citizen says
I’m not surprised an arrest was made. Considering the driver of the car.
I seem to remember a case involving a City Commissioner not long ago.This City Commissioner hit a cyclist in a cross walk. After having drinks at a local bar. Then the good ol boy network surrounded him. And he got off scott free. Then got re-elected.
Wonder how that cyclist is making out these days?
Skibum says
Maybe you have not read my many comments where I have stated that my career in law enforcement lasted just under 30 years. Nearly 3 decades dealing with many, many individuals who were found smoking marijuana or were symptomatic and in various stages of impairment after having used marijuana, particularly while driving (badly, I might add). My comments are not based on “what ifs”, as you state. They are not conjecture or wild fantastical guesses from someone with no knowledge or experience. They are instead, my personal and professional observations regarding what I have witnessed with my own eyes based on thousands of interactions and arrests I have made of people who were under the influence of marijuana. I know what that is, what such an individual’s usual symptoms and behavior are, and what kind of dangers they pose to themselves and others, ESPECIALLY when they are operating a motor vehicle. And based on that I don’t think it beyond my training and experience to elaborate on what is likely to happen in the future if the citizens of FL vote to make it even easier for people to get their hands on marijuana and use it in their daily lives for recreational purposes. You may disagree with me, but that doesn’t diminish my experience having dealt with this issue up close and personal for many, many years.
Nina says
Thank you for your service and sharing your experience on this thread. I personally agree with everything you have said and I caution those who are trying to make recreational marijuana legal here. I had medical trauma a few years back and was prescribed the medical marijuana card for PTSD, which is one of the approved uses. I tried all the different strains prescribed to me, down the least amount of THC I could get. It didn’t matter. They all impaired me and my judgment. I wasn’t looking for that. I was looking for some relief from the panic and fight or flight that comes with PTSD. I think people forget that marijuana is a hallucinogen and nobody should be allowed to take it recreationally and then get behind the wheel.