{"id":206,"date":"2026-05-12T05:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206"},"modified":"2026-05-12T05:04:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:04:47","slug":"highlands-county-deputy-accused-of-dui-leaving-scene-after-rear-end-crash-in-sebring-fhp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206","title":{"rendered":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div> <\/div>

SEBRING, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>A Highlands County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy was arrested Monday morning on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash. Investigators say the deputy rear-ended a truck while driving an agency vehicle and fled the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.<\/p>

Read more Plant City community demands answers, transparency from City Commission after multiple shootings<\/a><\/p>

The backstory:<\/p>

FHP says the crash happened shortly after 8 a.m. at the intersection of Sebring Parkway and Kenilworth Boulevard in Sebring.<\/p>

<\/div>

Investigators say Deputy Lars Kirkegard, 52, was driving a marked Highlands County Sheriff\u2019s Office vehicle when he approached a Ford truck that was stopped ahead of him. Troopers say Kirkegard failed to stop and hit the back of the pickup.<\/p>

No injuries were reported in the crash, and damage was described as minor, according to FHP.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

After the crash, troopers say Kirkegard left the scene in the sheriff\u2019s office vehicle. He was later found at Sebring High School.<\/p>

Read more Hillsborough County launches mobile office for tax collector services<\/a><\/p>

FHP arrested Kirkegard around 10 a.m. on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, troopers said.<\/p>

\u00a0Kirkegard was booked into the Highlands County Jail.<\/p>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

The sheriff\u2019s office said Kirkegard, who has worked with HCSO since 2007, was placed on administrative leave without pay pending both the criminal investigation and an internal review.<\/p>

“The citizens of Highlands County expect a high standard of professionalism and accountability from every member of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, and when one of our people fails to meet those standards, it is very disappointing,” Sheriff Paul Blackman said. “I want to thank the Florida Highway Patrol for quickly responding and investigating this incident, and we will fully cooperate with their investigation.”<\/p>

Read more Apollo Beach to the stars: Third grader\u2019s artwork heads to the International Space Station on SpaceX mission<\/a><\/p>

What’s next:<\/p>

The crash remains under investigation by FHP.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Highlands County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy was arrested Monday morning on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash. Investigators say the deputy rear-ended a truck while driving an agency vehicle and fled the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,91],"tags":[8,92],"class_list":["post-206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-sebring","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-sebring"],"yoast_head":"\nHighlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Highlands County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy was arrested Monday morning on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash. Investigators say the deputy rear-ended a truck while driving an agency vehicle and fled the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"headline\":\"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206\"},\"wordCount\":351,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Sebring\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Sebring\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206\",\"name\":\"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=206#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tampa moving journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal","og_description":"A Highlands County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy was arrested Monday morning on charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash. Investigators say the deputy rear-ended a truck while driving an agency vehicle and fled the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.","og_url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206","og_site_name":"Tampa moving journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"headline":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP","datePublished":"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206"},"wordCount":351,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp","keywords":["Crime and Public Safety","Sebring"],"articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","Sebring"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206","name":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP - Tampa moving journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-12T05:04:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9433d8e2f6f6e3bdc8f3f993b7206aa.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=206#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Highlands County deputy accused of DUI, leaving scene after rear-end crash in Sebring: FHP"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/","name":"Tampa moving journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}