Man charged with DUI in crash; passenger hurt
Driver denies he was behind wheel, refuses to be tested.
DELRAY BEACH — A Greenacres-area man was arrested Dec. 31 after he allegedly drove drunk into a concrete utility pole in Delray Beach, causing a male passenger to sustain an arm injury so serious he had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital, according to an arrest report.
Joseph Woodall, who turned 27 on the day of his arrest, allegedly walked away from the crash, then returned and spoke with Delray Beach police officers, but denied he was the driver, the report said. The report notes that Woodall had fresh injuries to his left arm and was missing a shoe that was found lodged into the gas pedal of the Dodge vehicle.
Woodall faces a charge of driving under the influence and causing serious injury to another person. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail later Dec. 31 after posting $3,000 bail. The state is scheduled to charge Woodall on Feb. 1.
The crash took place at about 1:10 a.m. in the area of Northwest 10th Avenue and Northwest Third Street, near Pompey Park and S.D. Spady Elementary School.
Woodall allegedly failed to negotiate an S-turn, leaving the roadway and driving into an open field, then crossing Northwest Ninth Avenue before slamming into the concrete pole. The 27-year-old passenger in the Dodge was taken as a trauma patient to Delray Medical Center. His condition was not available.
The arrest report states that Woodall had glassy eyes, slurred speech and a “strong smell” of alcohol coming from his breath. After he was told that police were conducting a DUI investigation, Woodall allegedly shouted “Fifth Amendment” repeatedly and refused to answer questions.
Once he was taken to the blood-alcohol testing site at the jail, Woodall allegedly began shouting profanities and racial slurs and said he was going to fight others inside a cell. Woodall refused to take any DUI-related test, the report said.
He shouted ‘Fifth Amendment’ repeatedly.