Key West Man Arrested After DUI E-Bike Crash, Contraband Found at Jail

Christian Everett Madrid, 53, of Key West was arrested after his e-bike collided with a tricycle at the corner of South College Road and U.S. 1 just after 10 p.m. on April 1, a crash that produced four criminal charges, including a felony, after deputies found marijuana on him during jail intake.

Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the scene at approximately 10:26 p.m. The adult tricycle rider was not seriously hurt. At the scene, Madrid failed standardized field sobriety exercises and was placed in custody.

The intersection sits along one of Key West's most heavily traveled corridors, where e-bikes, tricycles, and motor vehicles routinely share the road. For anyone riding at night along U.S. 1, Florida law requires a white front lamp and a red rear reflector or lamp; riders on e-bikes are subject to the same traffic rules as cyclists, meaning they must use designated bike lanes or stay as far right on the roadway as practicable rather than occupying travel lanes. Helmet use, though not mandated by state law for riders 16 and older, substantially reduces injury severity in collisions like the one Madrid was involved in.

At the Monroe County jail, the booking process deepened Madrid's legal exposure. Deputies found approximately three marijuana cigarettes in his possession, resulting in charges of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. A fourth count, smuggling contraband into a detention facility, followed; that charge is a felony under Florida law and carries penalties that far exceed those of the underlying traffic offense.

Madrid now faces DUI, marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia possession, and the felony contraband count. No bond amount or formal court date has been announced. If prosecutors file, his case will move through Monroe County court.

The arrest adds to a pattern of e-bike incidents that has drawn Sheriff's Office attention across the Keys in recent months, from electric dirt-bike pursuits to collisions on shared roadways. Florida treats e-bike operators under the same DUI framework as drivers of motor vehicles, meaning impaired riders face identical arrest protocols at the scene and the same booking process at jail, where whatever they are carrying becomes part of the public record.