VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man who was drunk on Fireball whiskey and beer drove recklessly through the Volusia County area, scaring a 15-year-old girl who was in the vehicle with him, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The teen said she was with Michael Vouriotis Tuesday and he went to his mother’s residence in Orange City to pick up money then drove the girl to a medical appointment.
After the appointment, Vouriotis took the girl to Walmart, then bought three small bottles of Fireball whiskey and two cans of beer from a nearby liquor store using the money he received from his mother, records show.
Deputies said Vouriotis drank the alcohol while driving through the area, swerving on the road and likely hitting lane dividers.
“It’s going the wrong way down 17/92,” a caller told a dispatcher.
She said he was heading southbound in the northbound lanes.
“He has no idea what he’s doing,” the caller said.
The dispatcher could hear the caller yelling at the driver to stop.
At red lights, Vouriotis would put the Hyundai SUV in park and try to sleep, according to authorities.
The teen said Vouriotis seemed to be lost but he’d yell obscenities at her when she tried to help him navigate, the report said.
The girl got out of the vehicle while Vouriotis was driving slowly on South Volusia Avenue and ran into a storage facility to ask for help, according to the affidavit.
Vouriotis was located in DeLand during a traffic stop, records show. Deputies said he was under the influence of alcohol.
He was arrested on a child abuse charge.