Police Officer Seriously Injured During a DUI Crash in Daytona Beach

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on February 15, 2022

A 34-year-old Daytona Beach police officer is thankfully on the mend this week after he sustained severe facial lacerations stemming from a rear-end collision near the intersection of LPGA Boulevard and Clyde Morris Boulevard last Wednesday.

According to preliminary incident reports from the responding authorities with the Florida Highway Patrol in Volusia County, it was during the evening hours of February 9, 2022, when 34-year-old Daytona Beach police officer Elijah Wekony was sent to the site of an auto accident close to the busy intersection of Clyde Morris Boulevard and LPGA Boulevard. After pulling over to the side of the road and illuminating the emergency lights on his department-issued sport utility vehicle, the young officer exited his vehicle in order to assess and assist the individuals involved in the collision.

As Wekony performed his routine tasks associated with the car crash, a Hyundai SUV being driven by 22-year-old Palm Coast resident Aubree Juergens entered the area. For reasons that are currently unknown, but are presumably due to the fact that she was under the influence of alcohol, Juergens failed to stop prior to reaching the intersection and she slammed head-on into the parked police car. The force of impact from the collision propelled the officer’s SUV forward and before he had any time to react to the situation, he was struck by his own sport utility vehicle.

Volusia County emergency response teams and troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol arrived at the scene of the accident shortly after being dispatched by local 9-1-1 offices and quickly determined that the 34-year-old officer required immediate medical attention. He was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition but is expected to make a full recovery. “He was shaken up, he got hit by a car, we’d all be shaken up if we were hit by a car. He survived and I was able to have a conversation with him,” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young in a statement to the press.

After registering a 0.187 blood alcohol level, which is almost two times the legal limit, Aubree Juergens was taken to the Volusia County Jail and charged with DUI causing serious bodily injury and driving under the influence.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.