Drunk Driver Caught When He Slid from the Passenger to Driver's Seat
He said he had only two shots and was OK to drive, but failed field sobriety tests.
A 30-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunk driving by Bayside police early Friday morning even though he hadn't driven the vehicle.
According to the police report:
At 1:28 a.m. Friday, an officer was driving southbound on Interstate 43 when he noticed a vehicle pull off into the distress lane. The officer stopped to see if anyone needed help and found both doors to the vehicle open. About 20 feet from the car, there was a woman who’d walked away, dropped her pants and was urinating. They also noticed an open container in the vehicle that the woman had just dumped out.
The presumed driver, a 30-year-old man from Milwaukee, smelled like alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and watery. The officer asked if the man had been drinking and he replied, “Two shots,” and said he was OK to drive. The man then admitted that the woman had been driving and pulled over to relieve herself, and that he had slid into the drivers seat while the car was running because she did not have a valid license.
The man failed the field sobriety tests after repeatedly not following directions from officers. His preliminary blood alcohol content was 0.283. He was arrested for operating while intoxicated.
The 25-year-old woman was cited for open intoxicants and operating while suspended.
David B Cohen
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
There is something "off" about this story. Why was the man arrested for operating while intoxicated if, in fact, he wasn't driving? It's not a crime to be drunk in a car someone else is driving. It may be criminal to try to mislead the police in their investigation of potential, but it seems to be a bit of a stretch in this case.
Sarah Worthman
12:30 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I asked Bayside police that question. They informed me that when they arrived, the man was in the driver's seat and the keys were in the ignition, which means he's considered the driver and required to be within legal limits for alcohol.