A man, who admitted having three shots of 99 proof banana-flavored Schnapps, was arrested by Mesa Police after a pedestrian was struck in a crosswalk.
According to Mesa Police, on February 1, 2021 around 11:15 p.m., officers responded to a collision involving an SUV and a pedestrian at the intersection of Gilbert and Southern in Mesa.
Witnesses told officers that they watched a suburban traveling northbound on Gilbert Rd. strike the pedestrian in the crosswalk at Southern Ave. After the driver saw the witness he turned around. The driver, later identified as Jimmy Maxwell Jr., went over to the pedestrian and told him that police were not needed and that he was okay.
A DUI investigation was started after officers noticed an odor of alcohol coming from the 40-year-old Maxwell.
Maxwell admitted to taking 3 shots of “99 Bananas,” but claimed he was not driving the vehicle.
Maxwell told officers that an unknown subject was driving the vehicle and that he was asleep in the passenger side. After the collision occurred and Maxwell was awoken, he said he switched seats with the driver and stopped the vehicle.
Officers put Maxwell through a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, to which they noted several validated clues.
They also found that Maxwell had a revoked driver’s license out of Tennessee.
Maxwell was booked into jail for 1ct Aggravated DUI- ARS 13-1383A1, a class 4 Felony.