AUBURNDALE, Fla. — A man has been arrested after 18 years for a DUI crash resulting in serious injury.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the May 2006 crash happened on Interstate 4 just west of State Road 559 in Polk County.
FHP said Faisal Javaid, 27, was driving a white Jaguar eastbound on I-4 and failing to stay in a single lane. That's when he over-corrected and lost control, crossing the median and hitting a Honda Element, FHP said.
The Jaguar was left split in half on the shoulder of the road. The Element was upside down in the middle lane of the interstate, and the occupants were trapped inside with "life-altering injuries," troopers said.
Javaid was traveling eastbound on I-4, failing to stay in a single lane. That's when he over-corrected and lost control, crossing the median and hitting the Honda Element, FHP said.
During an investigation, Javaid was showing signs of impairment. A blood draw showed that he was more than one and a half times over the legal limit at the time of the crash.
A trial was scheduled for May of 2008, but Javaid left the country before it took place. There were no updates in the case for 15 years.
FHP got a call in May of 2023 that Javaid had returned to the United States via Orlando International Airport. He was arrested there on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear during his DUI trial.
Javaid was found guilty on two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury on April 5, nearly 18 years after the crash. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in state prison.
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