‘Drunk’ driver, 22, races down popular Miami Beach boardwalk and plunges into the ocean after confusing it for a ROAD… before swimming out and being arrested by cops
An “intoxicated” man was seen driving onto a Miami Beach boardwalk on Sunday morning before veering off the ramp and plunging his car into the ocean.
Yandeivy Chavez Dominguez, 22, is said to have mistaken the popular boardwalk for a road and zoomed into the water early in the morning.
Dominguez reportedly sped down the South Pointe Park marina boardwalk and then drove over a concrete barrier into the Atlantic Ocean.
By 7 a.m., a crowd of stunned onlookers had gathered and stared out at the ocean, where the battered sedan was visible beneath the green water. The trunk of the sedan yawned open and above the water.
Andres Asion, a local resident, posted a video of the aftermath of the crash on his Facebook page.
Dominguez drove his car at ‘high speed’ along the Miami Beach boardwalk before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean
The car was still visible beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean
Dominguez was eventually arrested by police and is now being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correction Center, where his bail has been set at $10,000.
In the video, Asion pointed to an apartment complex looming over his shoulder and said, “So I was in my apartment up there, and I heard a car hit something at a high rate of speed.”
Yandeivy Chavez Dominguez, 22, apparently mistook the popular boardwalk for a road
He continued: ‘I couldn’t find where it was, and then I looked in the water and realized he had fallen in the water. This man was drunk. He just came out of a bar.”
Behind Asion, Dominguez could be seen sitting on the ground, surrounded by a crowd of police officers. The alleged drunk diver hugged his knees and dripped water.
“He thought that was a road,” Asion said, gesturing toward the boardwalk with his thumb. Asion then said Dominguez “dragged a** across the marina boardwalk where it flew over the barrier and landed in the water.” Crazy.’
Later in the video, Asion approached the waterfront and peered across the boardwalk at the car.
Parts of the crashed vehicle appeared to be floating on the surface. Water bubbled around the sunken car.
The barrier was covered in dirt that Dominguez’s car had driven over.
A video taken by local resident Andres Asion captured the dramatic aftermath of Dominguez’s crash
Police officers administered a field sobriety test on Dominguez, but the drunk driver promptly failed it
In the background of the video, police could be heard asking concernedly if anyone else was in the car.
“Is anyone else there?” shouted a concerned officer. The authorities leaned over the platform and stared at the car.
Dominguez, standing between two officers, held up his hands in a pose that suggested annoyance.
An outraged resident addressed Dominguez, who was now back on the ground, his body dripping water onto the concrete.
“You should be arrested, boy. Do you hear me, boy? You’re crazy.’
Dominguez threw up his hands and looked at the man. The police asked the resident to leave. “I have said my word,” the man said and walked away.
The video then showed two women apparently on the boardwalk at the time of the crash. They seemed shocked by what they had seen and the officer asked them to report what they had seen.
“We were sitting here with my father,” one woman said, gesturing to the other, who held an urn in her arms.
Emergency officials rushed to the scene and one rescuer dived underwater to confirm that no other individual was in the sunken car.
Dominguez looked as helpless as he was defiant as he threw his hands behind the police
They said the car was “coming towards them” and traveling “at a very, very high speed.”
The video showed Dominguez sitting on a damp patch of concrete with his forehead in his hand. A gold chain hung around his neck and a gold bracelet on his wrist.
Then Asion again filmed the ocean, through which a man swam to the sunken vehicle.
“Fire rescue goes into the water to clear the vehicle and make sure no one else is in the vehicle,” Asion said.
The rescuer dived under water and examined the car. Other emergency services leaned expectantly over the boardwalk. He looked in the trunk and then swam back to the boardwalk.
“No one else was found in the vehicle and the vehicle was evacuated,” Asion said.
Dominguez was apparently asked to stand on one leg as part of his field sobriety test, something he did not do
Officers spoke with two bystanders who were standing on the boardwalk with an urn containing their father’s ashes when Dominguez drove his car into the Atlantic Ocean.
The video then showed Dominguez standing in front of three police officers. One officer moves a pen in a circular motion in front of the driver’s eyes.
“This is the driver taking the sobriety test,” Asion said in background. For the next part of the sobriety test, it appeared Dominguez was asked to stand on one foot, something he had difficulty with.
Dominguez repeatedly tried to stand on one leg, but kept losing his balance and staggering to the ground.
Eventually, the officers handcuffed the man and led him away from the water.
According to an arrest report, Dominguez smelled of alcohol after the crash. He is now being prosecuted for driving under the influence. Dominguez is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correction Center. His bond has been set at $10,000.