NEWS RELEASE
DUI Driver Almost Hits Deputy on Patrol Head-on while Fleeing Scene of a Hit and Run Crash, Man Violating Judge’s Order Highlight Weekend Arrests
Date:Tuesday, July 21, 2026
BUNNELL, Fla. — Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies made 30 arrests this past weekend between 6 p.m. Friday, July 17, 2026, and 6 a.m. Monday, July 20, 2026. Deputies handled 899 calls for service and made 141 traffic stops.
Palm Coast Man Arrested for DUI After Wrong-Way Driving and Hit-and-Run Crash
Early Saturday morning, deputies arrested a Palm Coast man for driving under the influence after he left the scene of a crash and was then located driving the wrong way on Palm Coast Parkway.
Shortly before 2 a.m., a deputy saw a black Chevrolet pickup traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Palm Coast Parkway near the overpass at Interstate 95, heading directly toward the deputy’s patrol vehicle. The deputy stopped the truck and observed major front-end damage and red paint transfer that was believed to be from a red a vehicle that had been struck in a hit-and-run crash with injuries that had just been reported on State Road 100.
Deputies contacted the driver, David Vlassis, 46, of Palm Coast, who was standing unsteady outside the truck repeatedly apologizing. Deputies noted that his speech was slurred, he swayed as he stood, and his eyes were red and glossy. Vlassis agreed to field sobriety exercises that showed multiple signs of impairment. He later provided two breath samples of .220 and .219, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
David Vlassis, 46, Palm Coast (Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility)
“There is no excuse for getting behind the wheel while drunk. This driver was so impaired he was going the wrong way on the parkway and could have struck our deputy or anyone else head-on after already leaving the scene of a crash with injuries,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “He is lucky he didn’t kill someone.”
Deputies arrested Vlassis for driving under the influence with damage to person or property and for leaving the scene of a crash involving injury. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he was later released on $3,500 bond.
“See something, Say Something” results in Palm Coast Man Arrested for Violating an Injunction
On Sunday afternoon, deputies arrested a Palm Coast man for repeatedly violating an injunction after a grocery store employee reported that a man appeared to be keeping a woman from leaving in her vehicle.
Deputies responded to the Publix on Belle Terre Parkway shortly after 4 p.m. after an employee reported that a man had been standing at a woman’s driver’s side door for roughly 30 minutes and would not let her leave. When deputies arrived, they found Andrew Briedis, 28, of Palm Coast, leaning into the open driver’s doorway and could hear the woman repeatedly saying, “No.”
When a deputy asked what was going on, Briedis first said they were only talking. He then said the victim was telling him no because he was licking her. Briedis told deputies he was “playing around” and thought that licking her would get a reaction to see if she would, in his words, “engage.” All while she told him to stop and get away. Briedis said the two had previously been in a relationship.
Deputies confirmed that Briedis was the subject of an active injunction protecting the victim from him. The order prohibited him from having any contact with her and from going near her, her home, her workplace, or her vehicle. Briedis acknowledged that he knew about the injunction and was not allowed to contact the victim. He also admitted that he had been in contact with her almost every week and had violated the order before. This was not his first violation of the injunction. Briedis was arrested for violating the same order in March 2026, and a separate violation was reported in June 2026, when deputies determined he had violated it but were unable to locate him at the time.
Andrew Briedis, 28, Palm Coast (Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility)
“A judge ordered this man to stay away from his victim, and he has thumbed his nose at that order again and again,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “His ‘playing around’ is criminal and it is extremely creepy. He can ‘play around’ in a cell at the Green Roof Inn.”
Deputies arrested Briedis for violation of an injunction. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he was being held with no bond.
If you are a victim of domestic violence and need help, resources are available. In an emergency, always call 911. To report a violation or reach the Sheriff’s Office, call the non-emergency line at 386-313-4911 or the Family Life Center’s 24-hour domestic violence helpline at 386-437-3505.
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