North Florida deputy arrested after DUI crash

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – A sheriff’s deputy in north Florida has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence after witnesses say he left the scene of a car accident.

The Gainesville Sun reports (http://bit.ly/2hgnZLm) that 27-year-old Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Clayton Sperring was arrested Friday.

Witnesses told police that Sperring was pulling out of a parking spot early Friday when he hit a vehicle twice before leaving the scene.

The newspaper says an arrest report stated that Sperring smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, but he refused to take a breath test and to perform a sobriety field test.

Sperring has been a patrol deputy since 2014. The sheriff’s office says Sperring is on administrative leave and an internal investigation has begun.