Photo: City-County of Carson City Sheriff's Office
Unfortunately, drunk-driving arrests are still a dime a dozen. Despite sustained efforts on the part of the authorities and various awareness groups, there still are drivers who think it’s ok to get behind the wheel of a car even though they’ve had “one drink.”
That said, every once in a while, a DUI arrest truly beggars belief. Like this incident that went down in Carson City, Nevada, last week: police attempted to pull over a 28-year-old man in a black sedan doing 100 mph (161 kph) on city streets with the front and lateral airbags deployed. And that’s just the icing on the cake in terms of how strangely this incident played out.
Imagine one of those very bad, poorly-written, and even worse-executed D-rate comedies where the main character does like a thousand stupid things a minute, and no one is able to stop him. That’s pretty much how this reads.
The statement released by the City-County of Carson City Sheriff's Office (as cited by Carson Now) notes that police were alerted of a possible DUI by other drivers. When they arrived at the location, they noticed the sedan driving at a very high speed despite the airbags having deployed. They immediately engaged in a pursuit and remarked that the driver was unable to maintain lanes. By this time, he was driving slower and was even able to stop at a traffic light.
When the light turned green, he ignored warnings from the patrol and tried to make a left turn, crashing into the traffic pole. With the car stopped, police got out of their patrol vehicle to make an arrest, but the driver put his own car in reverse, aiming for the patrol car. Police ran to their vehicle and, within seconds, the chase was back on.
The driver eventually pulled at a gas station, crashed into a wall in the nearby fast-food restaurant's parking lot, and came to a complete stop. Police ran to his car and tried to get him out, but he was neither visible inside (because of the same airbags) nor responding to them. When the officers got the airbags out of the way, they found the man casually trying to light a cigarette.
They eventually got him out (which is when he went “limp,” presumably on purpose) and found an open can of beer inside the cabin. The car and the driver both smelled of alcohol, and the breathalyzer returned a BAC reading of .404. For comparison, the legal limit in Nevada is .08.
The man was arrested on charges of “second DUI, failure to maintain a lane, driving without a valid driver’s license, driving with an open container in the vehicle, failure to lead to an emergency vehicle, and driving without proof of insurance,” as per the release. Strangely, he wasn’t hit with a heavier reckless driving charge or speeding, despite the fact—and this can’t be emphasized enough—that he was doing 100 mph with zero visibility due to the airbags.
Imagine one of those very bad, poorly-written, and even worse-executed D-rate comedies where the main character does like a thousand stupid things a minute, and no one is able to stop him. That’s pretty much how this reads.
The statement released by the City-County of Carson City Sheriff's Office (as cited by Carson Now) notes that police were alerted of a possible DUI by other drivers. When they arrived at the location, they noticed the sedan driving at a very high speed despite the airbags having deployed. They immediately engaged in a pursuit and remarked that the driver was unable to maintain lanes. By this time, he was driving slower and was even able to stop at a traffic light.
When the light turned green, he ignored warnings from the patrol and tried to make a left turn, crashing into the traffic pole. With the car stopped, police got out of their patrol vehicle to make an arrest, but the driver put his own car in reverse, aiming for the patrol car. Police ran to their vehicle and, within seconds, the chase was back on.
The driver eventually pulled at a gas station, crashed into a wall in the nearby fast-food restaurant's parking lot, and came to a complete stop. Police ran to his car and tried to get him out, but he was neither visible inside (because of the same airbags) nor responding to them. When the officers got the airbags out of the way, they found the man casually trying to light a cigarette.
They eventually got him out (which is when he went “limp,” presumably on purpose) and found an open can of beer inside the cabin. The car and the driver both smelled of alcohol, and the breathalyzer returned a BAC reading of .404. For comparison, the legal limit in Nevada is .08.
The man was arrested on charges of “second DUI, failure to maintain a lane, driving without a valid driver’s license, driving with an open container in the vehicle, failure to lead to an emergency vehicle, and driving without proof of insurance,” as per the release. Strangely, he wasn’t hit with a heavier reckless driving charge or speeding, despite the fact—and this can’t be emphasized enough—that he was doing 100 mph with zero visibility due to the airbags.
Google News