Drunken driver injures Siesta Key pedestrian

Update: Hajnalka Dawn Buzas pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence, DUI with damage to property and DUI with damage to vehicle. As of October 2013, Buzas had paid restitution to the victim and completed her court-ordered probation.

A Florida Highway Patrol report reveals a Sarasota woman with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit hit a pedestrian on Siesta Key in the 700 block of Beach Road Tuesday and fled the scene.
Police arrested Hajnalka Dawn Buzas, 45, of Sarasota and she is out of jail on bond.

The report states Buzas’ blue Honda struck another car before hitting a pedestrian on the sidewalk, who was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and has already been discharged. Witnesses soon saw the car swerving all over the road after the accident and police pulled Buzas over and arrested her.

Buzas was charged with driving under the influence, causing an accident with injuries, a hit and run, a DUI with property damage and driving with a blood alcohol level exceeding .15. The legal limit for an adult is .08.

It’s the second DUI case on Siesta Key this year that involved a car hitting a pedestrian.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].