(CMR) Talk show host Mario Rankin has found himself in yet another car crash and DUI arrest after a night out on the town. The incident required a total of six police officers arriving in three separate sets to attend the scene, including the Firearms Response Unit (FRU), because of his initial verbal assault on two Jamaican officers.
Eyewitnesses shared that he was seen at The Office Bar & Lounge earlier in the evening attending a birthday party. He was observed with “an Asian lady with long back hair” coming out of the vehicle with him.
They noticed that he had been drinking but “didn't pay him much mind.” He eventually crashed his McLaren sports car into the guardrails at the exit of the Lindford Pierson Highway, heading into the Silver Oaks/CUC roundabout.
At the scene, he claimed that someone ran him off the road. However, he blew over double the legal alcohol limit permissible by law.
Sources revealed that the accident, which occurred right after midnight on Sunday morning, was shocking because of his attitude toward officers who arrived quickly on the scene. Two Jamaican traffic officers arrived in separate vehicles. He refused to cooperate with the initial Jamaican officers and was heard cursing them out and accusing them of being biased. He stated that they could not investigate him. He was overheard saying:
“You Fuc**** Jamaicans … unna work for me, I pay unna!”
Some of his tirades was caught on video:
He also threatened to call the Commissioner of Police to the scene. The officers then called for backup, and shortly after that, police Sargeant Stanley Clarke and a female officer came from the east and attempted to assist. Sgt. Clarke was able to calm him down somewhat, and he appeared to be more respectful of Clarke. However, he was “still cursing and carrying on as he refused to give a breath sample.”
Officers from the FRU then arrived, and he became agitated again, accusing them of wanting to pull their guns on him and stating that “I didn't do nothing.” Eyewitnesses shared that they were not aggressive towards Rankin but merely attempted to calm him down so that he could provide a breath sample. Despite that, he refused until Sgt. Clarke instructed them to place him under arrest and take the sample.
The officers could be heard telling him, “Sir, you're more than double the legal limit.” He was then taken away in the police car.
Rankin, who hosts Word of Mouth and also is the promoter for Jet Around Cayman, recently acquired the McLaren from an acquaintance in December and transferred it in January. This is not the first time that Rankin had wrecked a sports performance vehicle, but in the past, he left the scene of the accident. He has also appeared in court several times for DUI and traffic-related offenses.
Rankin gained prominence for being involved in the anti-port CPR group, but he also has been involved in controversy, including cursing out the previous governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cayman Islands continue to struggle to get traffic accidents under control after recording an all-time high number of road fatalities in 2022.
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