Inset: Brock A. Winkler (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Beer cans allegedly found behind Winkler’s Jeep after he struck a 3-year-old in Florida (VCSO).
A 36-year-old man in Florida is accused of hospitalizing a 3-year-old boy, allegedly drinking before getting behind the wheel of his Jeep and striking the boy as he ran away from the ocean along Daytona Beach.
Brock Adam Winkler was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of driving under the influence (DUI) resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of refusal to submit to DUI testing following the incident, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 4:14 p.m. on Saturday to a 911 call reporting a child being struck by a Jeep near the University Boulevard beach access.
When first responders arrived, a witness told them that a 3-year-old child was running from the ocean and “darted in front of the Jeep,” which struck him “at a low speed,” the release said. The driver of the Jeep, later identified as Winkler, remained at the scene during the crash investigation.
Emergency medical personnel transported the victim to Halifax Health Medical Center as a trauma alert due to his age. He suffered a concussion and a hairline fracture to his cervical spine but did not require surgery and was later discharged.
A preliminary investigation determined the crash occurred “due to the child darting into the traffic lane” and no traffic citation was issued for the crash itself.
Despite the finding on how the collision occurred, multiple witnesses allegedly told deputies that Winkler had been drinking immediately before the collision. A photo from the scene posted to the sheriff’s Facebook page showed “several empty beer cans left behind where he was parked.”
An arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate WESH provided some additional information about the circumstances of Winkler’s arrest. The document states that one of the responding deputies observed Winkler exhibiting “extreme changes in behavior, to include crying” that was immediately followed by “talking normally.” They also noted that Winkler began chewing gum shortly after deputies reached the scene.
Winkler reportedly told authorities he worked in the construction industry and was blind in his left eye, though his driver’s license did not indicate a requirement for corrective lenses.
Deputies conducted field sobriety exercises and said they found probable cause to charge him with DUI causing serious bodily injury. Winkler allegedly refused to submit to a breath test, leading to an additional charge.
Following his arrest, Winkler told deputies he was on pretrial release out of Polk County, Florida, in connection with a burglary case involving his ex-wife, according to the report.
Winkler remained in custody at the Volusia County Jail Monday morning on $11,000 bond. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to make his next appearance in court.
