POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A traffic crash on I-4 in Polk County ended with a DUI arrest and the seizure of multiple prescription medications.
Troopers say they were dispatched to the westbound lanes near mile marker 27 on Saturday after a cement truck was sideswiped by another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle, identified as 41-year-old Nicholas George Levine of Orlando, appeared impaired, slurring his speech and struggling to maintain balance. He refused field sobriety tests, telling officers he was late for work.
During a search, troopers found a white pill container in Levine’s pocket that he claimed belonged to his girlfriend and contained Xanax. A further search of his vehicle uncovered a backpack with a green container holding assorted pills.
The pills were identified and weighed, including Alprazolam (Schedule IV), Buprenorphine Hydrochloride (Schedule III), and Zolpidem Tartrate (Schedule IV), along with several prescription-only medications such as Clonidine Hydrochloride, Quetiapine Fumarate, Guanfacine Hydrochloride, Metoprolol Succinate, Hydroxyzine Hydrochloride, Namenda, and Baclofen.
Levine was taken to the Polk County Jail, and the drugs were submitted into evidence at the Florida Highway Patrol’s Lakeland Station. He faces DUI and drug-related charges.
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