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Driver Safety Firm Worker Charged With DUI In Tampa

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By ELIZABETH CATE

News Channel 8

Published: June 13, 2008

Updated: 06/13/2008 07:03 pm

TAMPA - An employee for an organization that teaches driver safety was arrested this morning for drunken driving, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Michael Eligon, 31, is a customer service representative for Suncoast Safety Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing driver training in Pinellas County.

About 2 a.m., Eligon was traveling west on Hillsborough Avenue and crossed three lanes without signaling, according to a criminal report affidavit.

A deputy pulled Eligon over at the Dale Mabry intersection, after his car almost struck a concrete island in the median, the report says. The deputy noticed slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and alcohol on Eligon's breath, the report says. Eligon failed field sobriety tests, and he was arrested, the report says.

Suncoast Safety Council Executive Director Kim Jowell said Eligon has been with the company for less than 90 days.

Eligon, she said, "has always shown to be of good character."

When Eligon didn't show up for work this morning, his supervisors were worried, Jowell said. She said she has "never questioned his work performance before." As for Eligon's job, Jowell plans to discuss options with her employee first. The organization offers a DUI program.

Eligon was charged with driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, and is being held at the Orient Road Jail with bail set at $500, according to jail records.

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