Drunk driver hits police cruiser used for educating about dangers of drunk driving.

A drunk driver crashed into two Citrus County Sheriff’s Office cruisers, but one of them had a more fateful message.

While helping with crowd control at Pirate Fest in Crystal river, Deputy Nacy Suto’s creative cruiser was sitting in the median with the flashing lights on. The driver deputies say was drunk, a 63-year-old man, hit another nearby patrol car that then hit Suto’s cruiser, according to Bay News 9.

The deputy’s more unusual cruiser, made to look like a cab on the back half and a sheriff’s cruiser on the front half, ended up giving the driver a ride to jail, according to Bay News 9.

The other cruiser that was struck was badly damaged, but Suto’s vehicle had just a few scratches, according to Bay News 9.

The vehicle is for educational purposes, according to Bay News 9, representing the two options for drinking and driving — getting pulled over or taking a cab home.

“When I asked him if he’d been drinking, he said yes. When I asked him how much, when he told me he didn’t see the lights, he said quite a bit,” Suto told Bay News 9. “The irony was that he ended up going to jail in the back of the car that looks like a taxi. It’s unfortunate.”

Paul Wilkins, the driver, was charged with DUI and operating a vehicle in a careless or negligent manner, Bay News 9 reported.

This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Drunk driver hits police cruiser used for educating about dangers of drunk driving.."