A 60-year-old Eureka man was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He allegedly hit his neighbor’s mailbox with a car he was driving before going home, where police officers found him sleeping on a couch, Eureka Police reported.
Officers were called at about 1:35 p.m. Nov 20 to the 700 block of Southern Hills Drive after two people said they saw the man drive a 2014 Volkswagen into a mailbox. The man had driven back onto the street after the accident, but he appeared to be unconscious in the car, the report said.
One of the people who saw the alleged accident told police he approached the car, and the man then drove away. The people took pictures of the car, and officers went to the man’s home on Southern Hills Drive, according to the report.
Officers saw the man sleeping on the couch inside the home, but the man would not answer the door after they knocked and rang the doorbell. A woman answered the door, and she let the officers come inside, the report said.
The man appeared confused after waking up, and he told the officers he had COVID and had not left his home all day. He later told the officers he drove to Walmart, but he didn’t remember driving home, according to the report.
The Eureka Fire Protection District was called to evaluate the man. Firefighters said he should be taken to a hospital, but the man refused to go, the report said.
The man allegedly failed field sobriety tests. He also allegedly registered a .235 percent blood-alcohol content, Eureka Police reported. In Missouri, .08 percent is the legal limit.
The man was arrested, and he allegedly told the officers on the way to the police station that he had messed up again and couldn’t get in trouble for drinking and driving again, the report said.
The man was booked and released to a sober driver, according to the report.
He was issued summons to appear in Eureka Municipal court for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident and DWI, Lt. Brett Grittini said.