Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the early hours of this morning, 25-year-old Kellis Tyshon Carmen found himself in police custody following a troubling incident involving a borrowed vehicle. Accused of driving under the influence, Carmen allegedly collided with a parked car before overturning the borrowed vehicle onto its roof.
The incident unfolded around 1:28 a.m. on April 1, when an officer from the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) arrived at the 1000 block of NW 10th Avenue. There, a silver car was discovered upside down, having struck a parked vehicle with such force that it was propelled over a curb, rendering it inoperable. Following the crash, the driver reportedly abandoned the scene.
The vehicle’s registered owner was soon contacted by the officer. She confirmed that she had lent the car to Carmen, who later appeared at her apartment to confess to the accident. Utilizing her phone, the officer managed to briefly speak with Carmen, who admitted to the crash and stated he was “in the neighborhood.” Shortly thereafter, he emerged from a nearby apartment building.
Observations made by the responding officer noted that Carmen’s eyes appeared red and watery, and there was a noticeable smell of alcohol on his breath.
After being read his rights, Carmen reportedly conceded to causing the crash. He claimed he had swerved to dodge an oncoming vehicle that was speeding, which led him to strike the curb and ultimately flip the car. Carmen insisted he was only traveling at 20-30 mph and was unaware of hitting the parked car. However, the officer expressed skepticism about this account, considering the significant extent of the damage inflicted on both vehicles.
Carmen reportedly said he left the scene of the crash because his phone was dead and he wanted to tell the car’s owner that he had crashed her car; he said he charged his phone at the car owner’s residence and reportedly could not explain why he had not called law enforcement after his phone came back on.
Carmen reportedly denied drinking any alcoholic beverages, but he said he had smoked marijuana a couple of hours before the crash.
He reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety exercises and was arrested for driving under the influence.
At GPD Headquarters, Carmen reportedly said, “I’m high. I know I’m high”; he said he would tell the judge the same thing and that he would not stop smoking marijuana. His breath samples reportedly measured 0.114 g/210L and 0.113 g/210L, above the legal limit of 0.08 g/210L. The officer noted that because his breath test showed that he had alcohol in his blood, a urine sample for drugs was not collected, although Carmen said he had smoked marijuana.
Carmen has been charged with hit and run with damage to unattended property and DUI with property damage. He has juvenile convictions between 2014 and 2016, two adult felony convictions (two violent), and three misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in February 2025.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
