Broward prosecutor accused of DUI after hit-and-run crash on I-95

A Broward prosecutor was arrested after troopers say he rear-ended one vehicle and sideswiped another before abandoning his own car on Interstate 95 on Tuesday evening. No one was hurt. Alim Babayev, 37, of Boca Raton, was arrested while walking on northbound Interstate 95 south of the Oakland Park Boulevard exit, minutes after he begged a passing motorist to let him in his car, according to an arrest report. That driver had already called the Florida Highway Patrol to report what appeared to be a hit and run.

Troopers found Babayev’s abandoned white Crown Victoria between the Sunrise and Oakland Park Boulevard exits, a couple of miles north of Broward Boulevard, where the black Corolla and the gold Pathfinder he allegedly struck had come to a stop.

The drivers of those two vehicles told another trooper that Babayev did not stop his car after he crashed into theirs, according to the report.

Damage to the Crown Victoria was consistent with the damage on the struck vehicles, Trooper Lamar Wilson wrote in his report.

Troopers said Babayev appeared to be impaired and that he smelled like alcohol. He did not consent to a blood alcohol or field sobriety test.

Babayev is accused of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, both misdemeanors punishable by less than a year in jail.

Babayev began working for the State Attorney’s Office in February 2017 and was assigned to the felony trial unit, office spokeswoman Paula McMahon said. He was suspended without pay Wednesday. The governor’s office will be asked to appoint a special prosecutor to avoid any appearance of bias in the prosecution of the case, McMahon said.

Efforts to reach Babayev and to identify his defense lawyer on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Babayev