'I Hate You Guys': Wrong-Way Driver Nearly Collides Head-On with Fla. Police Sergeant on Way Home

A Florida police sergeant narrowly avoided a head-on collision early Saturday after an alleged drunken driver was traveling the wrong way along a highway.

The incident happened just after 1:30 a.m. as a Port St. Lucie police sergeant was heading home following a shift, the department stated in a news release. That's when a vehicle was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of State Road 70 and nearly struck the sergeant, who swerved onto the shoulder to avoid a collision.

After the near-crash, the driver—later identified as Jake Abbott—kept driving the wrong way along the highway. The sergeant used his spotlight to alert other motorists of the imminent danger, officials said.

Backup police officers and St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies were called in, and deputies found Abbott’s vehicle stopped in the wrong lane. A strong odor of alcohol was detected, and an empty can of Twisted Tea was visible inside the car, according to investigators.

According to body camera footage, Abbott, who was later charged with DUI and fleeing and eluding, was defiant as he was taken into custody.

"I hate you guys," he told officers, adding, "You got to do what you got to do, boss."

Two passengers in the vehicle were not uninjured in the incident. The sheriff's office is investigating the matter.