ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A man and woman were arrested after hitting two pedestrians in a DUI crash Sunday morning in the area of the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, witnesses observed a vehicle traveling northbound on Avenida Menendez at a high rate of speed, striking two women on the sidewalk. The vehicle traveled into a parking lot, hitting a parking sign and pay-to-park kiosk before coming to a stop.
Shannon King, 21, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, DUI crash involving serious bodily injury and DUI crash involving property damage.
A passenger in the vehicle, Lamar Johnson Jr., 22, was charged with resisting officers without violence. The sheriff's office said he refused to obey commands from law enforcement and attempted to cause a disturbance with other citizens while first responders were treating the victims and managing the scene.
The victims are in critical condition at area hospitals, SJSO said.
“The community is very, very busy and there’s a lot of walking traffic," said River & Fort Executive Chef Derrick Haggerty.
Haggerty has a front-row view of a lot of that foot traffic, with the parking lot in front of the Castillo De San Marcos right across the street.
Skid marks stretch through that parking lot after the incident Sunday morning.
“Someone being reckless and putting people’s lives in jeopardy," said Haggerty.
A witness didn’t want to go on camera, but says she saw the car driving fast while cutting straight through a group of four people walking on the sidewalk.
She says two were hit, while she heard the other two scream.
“The posted speed limit is quite reasonable down here, so nobody should be traveling at an extreme rate of speed," said Haggerty.
Based on what he sees from right across the street, Haggerty doesn’t think the crash is cause for changing anything on Avenida Menendez.
“What happened last night was, I believe, a one-off thing," said Haggerty. "It’s not something I believe would be the norm around here.”
Both King and Johnson Jr. were released from police custody Sunday afternoon.