AEW wrestler, former WWE champion Jeff Hardy arrested on drunken driving charge in Volusia

Professional wrestler Jeff Hardy was arrested in Volusia County early Monday on three charges, including a third DUI offense within the last 10 years, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP arrest records show Hardy, 44, was also charged with driving on a suspended license and violating a restriction which required him to have a DUI interlock device in his vehicle. He remains in the Volusia County Jail on $3,500 bond.

The DUI charge is a third-degree felony, and the other two charges are misdemeanors. Records show that Hardy is due to appear in court Tuesday.

According to the FHP’s report, Hardy was “swerving all over the roadway, failing to maintain (his) lane, and running off the roadway in the area” of Mile Marker 109 on Interstate 4 in a white Dodge Charger. Hardy did not immediately pull over or do so in a safe manner, the report states.

WWE wrestler Jeff Hardy (Matt Hardy’s brother), is also a Cameron native. He has two daughters.

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When the officer approached the vehicle from the rear passenger side, Hardy reached into a black backpack and was issued loud, verbal commands to remove his hands from the bag. Hardy “appeared to be in a stupor and confused” when the officer slapped the driver-side window in attempts to get his attention, according to the report.

Hardy exited the vehicle without any issues but appeared to be “unsteady on his feet, displayed orbital sway, reeked of the odor of an alcoholic beverage, and was confused,” according to the report. He admitted to drinking earlier in the day, the report states.

Per the report, Hardy willingly submitted to two breathalyzer readings — 0.294 and 0.291, more than 3½ times the legal limit of 0.08 set by Florida law.

Hardy, a native of Cameron, North Carolina, was arrested twice previously in his home state for driving while impaired — once in 2018 near the Charlotte area, and again in 2019 in Moore County. He was also booked for public intoxication in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in July 2019.

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Hardy, a former world champion during his time with WWE and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is currently contracted to All Elite Wrestling. He has wrestled nine times this year, per the promotion’s website.

This is the second recent instance of a well-known professional wrestler being arrested for DUI in Volusia County.

Last month, WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch entered a plea of not guilty to DUI causing death and other charges stemming from a March 25 deadly traffic crash in Ormond Beach.

Sytch had a blood alcohol content of .280, police said.  Police also found an unsealed bottle of vodka in her car.

Besides the DUI causing death, Sytch, 49, was charged with one count of driving with a suspended revoked license causing death/serious injury; four counts of DUI with “damage to person;” and two counts of DUI with damage to property. The charges add up to a potential 26 years in prison if convicted on all counts and with the sentences running consecutively.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Jeff Hardy, former WWE champ arrested in DUI on I-4 in Florida