Boozy driver wipes out $34K electronic sign on U.S. 1

July 27--A Cape Coral man is facing a drunk-driving charge after he wiped out along U.S. 1 near Key West over the weekend in a single-car crash.

But Richard Dean Hamilton, 35, didn't merely total his 2002 Ford Focus, the Florida Highway Patrol says of the 10 a.m. Saturday mishap at mile marker 5.

Hamilton's Focus left the southbound lane and swerved right on to the grassy shoulder, striking one of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office's electronic signs that flash drivers' speeds as they motor past. The portable signs run about $34,000 new, an official said.

"Like any vehicle accident, we have to go through the process of replacing it after insurance claims are filed, etc.," said Deputy Becky Herrin, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office. "It isn't the only portable sign we have. The Lower Keys district has two so they will just use the other one."

The Focus' impact sent the radar unit across a paved pedestrian walkway and about 15 feet down a grassy embankment, an FHP report states. The unit came to a final rest upside down and in several pieces, troopers said.

The Focus, which was also carrying a passenger, Orvis Chee, 33, of Ganado, Ariz., continued rolling southbound on a pedestrian walkway for several hundred feet before it stopped.

Hamilton was booked for driving under the influence of alcohol and cited for failing to maintain a single lane and failing to have a valid driver's license. Hamilton, who was jailed at 1:27 p.m. Saturday, was released at 5:38 p.m. Monday after posting $3,000 bond.

Gwen Filosa: @KeyWestGwen

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