Driver in accident that cost teenager an arm arrested

HOLT -- Holt resident Cody Myers, 18, faces multiple charges in connection with a November wreck that resulted in the amputation of another teenager’s arm.

On Tuesday, Myers was arrested and charged with DUI with serious injury, DUI property damage, driving with a suspended drivers license and careless driving, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release.

Myers' arrest stems from a Nov. 10 accident in which he lost control of his 1994 Ford F-150 in a curve while “traveling at a high rate of speed,” according a FHP report issued after the accident.

Following Myers’ Tuesday arrest, the FHP announced his blood alcohol concentration level at the time of the wreck was .121.

Read the original story of the accident here.

Read the latest story on Jacob Mashburn's recovery here.

Myers was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail. As of noon Monday, he was still incarcerated and no bond had been set.

Jacob Mashburn, 17, was sitting in the passenger’s seat the night of the accident when Myers' truck slammed into two pecan trees on John Road in Holt with enough force to rip the cab from the body. Neither of the boys was wearing a seat belt, an FHP report states.

Mashburn’s right arm was shredded in the wreck and amputated by surgeons at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. The teenager's scalp also had to be stitched back together and he recalled putting his hand to head after the wreck and feeling his exposed skull “with everything open.”

Myers' leg was broken in the wreck and required multiple stitches.

Holt Fire Department Chief Scot Chestnut called the crash “one of the worst he had ever seen.”

In a recent interview, Mashburn said he does not want people to be angry with his friend.

“He’s like a brother to me,” Mashburn said. “I love him.”

Three days before the wreck, Myers was released from the Okaloosa County Jail after serving a 45-day sentence for driving with his license suspended. In 2007, he was cited for unlawful speeding and was issued a ticket for careless driving.

“This is a tragedy,” Mashburn’s mother, Lisa Griffin, said after the accident. “But Cody shouldn’t have been on the road with a suspended drivers license. I hope this will make kids think twice. I hope this will make Cody think twice.”

Since the accident, Mashburn has been undergoing physical therapy and was treated for several infections in his amputated arm that required daily intravenous drips. He will eventually be fitted with a prosthetic at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa.