Alleged drunk driver plows vehicle into locked gate at Florida airport, tries to board occupied plane

A man acused of being a drunk driver plowed his car through a gate at a Florida airport Wednesday and briefly boarded a plane before he was detained.

Body camera video released by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office showed deputies speaking with the man, identified as Bryan J. Parker, at Daytona Beach International Airport.

"What's the deal, man?" the deputy asked.

"I don't remember," Parker replied, handcuffed and seated on the ground.

In the video, Parker told the deputies that he had been at home before he attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He also admitted drinking alcohol and using drugs before the incident.

"I crashed my car," he said.

The sheriff's office said on X that it was notified around 4:23 p.m. Wednesday that a blue Ford Mustang had crashed through a locked gate at the airport.

Airport personnel said the car drove toward the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University section of the airport, the sheriff's office said. Witnesses said the car entered the taxiway and nearly struck a plane that was taxiing.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

The airport said in a statement that the driver drove onto the secondary runway, not the main runway. Embry–Riddle said that it was aware of the incident and that its safety officers "responded immediately."

According to the sheriff's office, Parker got out of his car and tried to enter an occupied plane but was unsuccessful. He is then alleged to have approached two other unoccupied airplanes and briefly gotten inside.

"As Parker ran to other aircraft in the area, an airport operations technician chased him down, pulled him out of a plane and sat him on his truck’s tailgate," the sheriff's office said. "However, Parker jumped off the tailgate and ran toward another plane before he was once again apprehended and placed in handcuffs."

Airport operations were not affected, the airport said.

Parker, 58, of Holly Hill, was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on charges of attempted aircraft piracy, burglary of a conveyance, felony trespass, indecent exposure, criminal mischief, DUI with damage and refusal to submit to DUI testing.