New York man arrested after driving pickup truck into ocean at New Smyrna Beach, deputies say
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - Beachgoers might have stayed away from New Smyrna Beach on Tuesday due to high tides and windy weather, but one New York man went anyway, and he allegedly had one goal in mind: to drive on the beach.
Jason Brzuszkiewicz, 49, was arrested and charged with failure to pay an access fee after he allegedly bypassed the closed beach access gate at New Smyrna Beach just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday and drove his Dodge Ram pickup truck onto the shore, according to an arrest affidavit from the Volusia Sheriff's Office. Brzuszkiewicz allegedly drove around the "DO NOT ENTER" sign without paying the toll fee.
Video of the incident from the sheriff's office shows Brzuszkiewicz in his white pickup truck allegedly driving down the shallow waters for over a minute. At one point in the video, he's seen attempting to do a donut, as seen in the footage. Three lifeguards responded to the scene "in case of a medical issue," and Brzuszkiewicz was then seen backing his truck out of the water. You can watch the video in the player above.
Photo: Volusia Sheriff's Office
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When deputies eventually caught up with him after lifeguards responded, Brzuszkiewicz said "he wanted to drive on the beach," the affidavit said.
Deputies informed Brzuszkiewicz, however, that the beach was closed to cars because the tide was too high.
"It's not my fault the truck don't surf," Brzuszkiewicz told deputies upon his arrest, according to bodycam footage from the sheriff's office.
Photo: Volusia Sheriff's Office
"Yeah, but you shouldn't be driving on the beach when the gates are all closed," the deputy replied.
"Can I get in trouble for that?" Brzuszkiewicz asks.
"Yeah, yeah," the deputy said.
Photo: Volusia Sheriff's Office
Jeff Buckingham, who works at a bar on the beach, has a panoramic view of the waves.
"You wouldn't catch me driving a pickup truck in three-foot-deep water," he said. "We see a lot of unusual stuff here, but that's probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen."
Brzuszkiewicz was transported to the Volusia Branch Jail on $200 bond, and his truck was towed. No one was hurt as a result of the incident, deputies say.