Clay deputy ran stop sign, collided with truck
BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
STARKE— A Clay County deputy arrested for DUI told an FHP trooper that his career was over due to the arrest.
According to an arrest report, Christopher Allen Coldiron, 47, of Lawtey was arrested by Trooper Jeffery Naeyaert after a crash that occurred at 10:22 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
Naeyaert wrote that he was dispatched to a crash at the intersection of State Road 16 and County Road 233 north of Starke when he saw a silver Dodge Ram with damage to the left rear.
“I observed Vehicle 2, a blue in color Chevrolet pickup truck…with damage to its front right,” he added.
Naeyaert wrote that Coldiron, the driver of the silver Dodge, told him that he was driving on 233, turned right, and didn’t remember anything after that.
The driver of the blue Chevrolet said that while he was driving northbound on 16, the Dodge ran the four-way stop at the intersection and that he could not avoid hitting the Dodge.
The trooper added: “While speaking with Mr. Coldiron, I observed the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person and breath. I observed Mr. Coldiron to be unsteady on his feet and his eyes to be bloodshot and watery.”
Naeyaert wrote that Coldiron said he had just left Timbuktu, a U.S. 301 bar and package store, and was heading for his girlfriend’s house at the time of the crash.
“When asked if he has consumed anything to drink,” Naeyaert wrote, “he stated, ‘about 6 beers and a shot of crown apple.’ I asked if he was having dinner while drinking and he stated it was a family get-together.”
The trooper wrote that based on the results of standardized field sobriety exercises, he arrested Coldiron for DUI.
He added that the defendant refused to provide a breath sample.
“It should be noted, on multiple occasions,” Naeyaert concluded, “Mr. Coldiron spontaneously uttered ‘I’m (expletive deleted)’ and “my career is over.”
According to the sheriff’s office social media, Coldiron recently served as the agency’s director of detention.
Photo: Coldiron
