Eureka Police arrested a 28-year-old St. Louis man for suspicion of driving while intoxicated after he nearly hit a vehicle from behind on Hwy. 66 and reportedly failed to maintain a single lane on I-44. The man allegedly registered twice the legal limit for blood-alcohol content, police reported.
At about 5:55 p.m. March 16, an officer reportedly saw the man driving a 2004 Saturn VUE at a high rate of speed and nearly hit a vehicle traveling ahead. The officer followed the SUV as it turned onto Six Flags Road and then onto eastbound I-44, the report said.
The officer allegedly saw the SUV swerve and weave several times on the interstate before pulling over the VUE near the Hwy. 109 exit. The officer reported smelling alcohol on the man’s breath and seeing an open bottle of Corona beer in the cup holder and what appeared to be beer on the passenger-side floorboard, according to the report.
The driver allegedly told the officer he was driving to Houston and had drunk at least a six pack of beer. The man allegedly failed field sobriety tests and was arrested, the report said.
The officer reported the open bottle of beer in the vehicle was cold. The officer also said he found a six pack of Corona beer on the floorboard with at least one empty bottle, plus a six pack of Budweiser and one empty Budweiser beer bottle in the SUV. The officer also allegedly found a smoking pipe that had marijuana residue on it, according to the report.
At the Police Station, the driver allegedly registered a .161 percent blood-alcohol content, according to the report. In Missouri, .08 percent is the legal limit.
The man was booked and eventually released with citations to appear in Eureka Municipal Court for DWI, driving with a revoked license, improper lane use, operating a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol and possession of drug paraphernalia, Lt. Michael Werges said.