Gustavo Bautista
By Isaac Ray
A habitual traffic offender was arrested for driving with a suspended license after driving over a median into oncoming traffic.
On March 12, officers in a Coral Springs Police cruiser were stopped at a red light at Westview Drive and North University Drive when they saw a vehicle drive onto the median on the west side of the intersection, striking a tree. The vehicle briefly stopped, reversed, then began traveling eastbound on Westview Drive in the westbound lanes.
According to the report, the driver, later identified as Gustavo Bautista, 49, of Pompano Beach, continued to travel the wrong way, endangering the lives of the drivers who attempted to avoid him.
As officers pursued Bautista, he curved back into the westbound lanes. When they activated their emergency lights for a traffic stop, he pulled over in the Magnolia Plaza at the 9800 block of Westview Drive.
Bautista attempted to leave his vehicle as officers approached but was stopped. When asked for a driver’s license, Bautista presented a Florida ID. Once again, they asked for a license, and he insisted he had given them one but eventually admitted that he didn’t have one.
A search of Bautista’s name revealed his driver’s license had been suspended and that he is labeled a habitual traffic offender due to a history of driving with a suspended license and traffic infractions dating back as far as 1990.
While officers were arresting Bautista, they observed two open beer cans inside his vehicle’s center console. In addition to charges of wrong-way driving and a suspended license, he was charged with possession of an open container of alcohol.
Bautista was taken into custody and transported to the Broward County Mail Jail. He was later released after posting a $750 bond.
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