TAMPA, Fla. — Deputies arrested a Hillsborough County elementary school principal for drunk driving and fleeing from law enforcement when they tried to pull him over, authorities said.
Otis Kitchen II, 45, was driving at 10 p.m. Friday in the area of West Linebaugh Avenue and North Dale Mabry Highway when a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy said Kitchen nearly side-swiped him. Kitchen, the principal of Town and Country Elementary School, was "driving erratically, straddling lanes of traffic and nearly entering the path of oncoming vehicles," a news release said.
Another deputy said Kitchen failed to stop at a red light at the intersection of Gunn Highway and West Linebaugh Avenue.
Kitchen wouldn't stop when deputies tried to pull him over, but the law enforcement officers followed him and saw him park his car inside his garage.
When deputies arrested Kitchen, they said he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, smelled like alcohol and urinated on himself. Kitchen had difficulty completing the sobriety exercises and he blew a .142, according to the release. The legal limit is .08.
"Drinking and driving is not only irresponsible but also inexcusable,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “It endangers the lives of everyone on the road. Our deputies acted swiftly to prevent a potentially tragic situation."
Kitchen was arrested for DUI and fleeing to elude. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail but has since been released.