A 46-year-old Eureka man was arrested Jan. 19 for suspicion of driving while intoxicated when police found him walking away from his car after it was involved in an accident on Weber Drive, Eureka Police reported.
At about 6:05 p.m., officers were called to the 300 block of Weber Drive when a 38-year-old Eureka man said a 2011 Ford Explorer he was driving was hit from behind by a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. Officers found the Grand Prix at the intersection of Weber Drive and Heyden Drive, and they spotted the 46-year-old walking away from the car on Weber Drive toward Hill Drive, police reported.
The driver of the abandoned car showed signs of being intoxicated, and when he was asked if he was intoxicated, the man allegedly said, “Yes.” When officers asked him if should have been driving, the man allegedly said, “Probably not.”
After the failed a sobriety field test, the man was arrested and taken to the Police Station, where he allegedly registered a .17 percent blood alcohol content, the report said. In Missouri, .08 percent is the legal limit.
The driver of the Explorer told police the Grand Prix was stopped in the middle of Weber Drive. The driver of the Explorer said he honked his horn, before going around the Grand Prix and honking his horn again and making a hand gesture toward the driver of the stopped car, the report said.
The driver of the Grand Prix said he got upset when the Explorer went around him and started to follow the SUV. He said the SUV stopped, and he couldn’t stop in time and struck the back of the Explorer, according to the report.
The Grand Prix then went around the Explorer, which pulled over after sustaining significant damage to its rear. The Grand Prix, which had significant front-end damage, then stopped at the intersection and the driver got out and started walking home before encountering police, the report said.
The man was issued summons to appear in Eureka Municipal Court for leaving the scene of an accident and driving while intoxicated, Capt. David Wilson said.