A 38-year-old man from Gretna, La., was arrested in Eureka for suspicion of driving while under the influence and tampering with a motor vehicle after the car he was driving went off the road and onto a cart path at the Legends Country Club, 625 Legends Parkway. The incident happened about 8:45 p.m. Feb. 5, Eureka Police reported.
Officers were called to the Legends subdivision area after a woman reported that she saw a 2003 Nissan Altima with Louisiana license plates drive off the golf course and onto the road, the report said.
The woman said she initially saw the car drive off the course onto Fairway Oaks before turning onto Legends Parkway. She said she followed the car for a while, but it made a U-turn across a grass median began traveling in the opposite direction, according to the report.
A Eureka officer saw the Altima traveling west on Legends Parkway before it went off the right side of the road, down an embankment and onto a cart path. The man told the officer he was lost, and said he didn’t know he had been driving on a golf course.
He also reportedly told the officer he thought he was in St. Charles. In addition, the man allegedly said he had smoked meth three days earlier, the report said.
The officer arrested the man, who allegedly said he was having chest pains. Eureka Fire Protection District personnel were called to the scene to examine the man, and they determined he needed to go to a hospital but didn’t need to be transported by ambulance, according to the report.
The man was placed in the back of the police car, but he started to hit his head on the window and partition separating the front seats from the rear seats. He also removed his seat belt and was kicking at the back window with both feet, the report said.
The officer pulled over, called for backup and the man was restrained by several officers. He was then restrained to a stretcher by Eureka Fire personnel, who transported him by ambulance with an officer in the vehicle to SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, the report said.
The man was combative during the trip to St. Clare. At the hospital he was told he was being arrested for suspicion of DWI. The officer asked for a blood sample, but the man refused, according to the report.
After hospital staff examined him, he was released to the police officer, who took him back to the Police Station, where he was booked. During the booking, the man allegedly said he had been using meth. In addition, the car he was driving belonged to his girlfriend's father, and he allegedly had stolen it after a domestic incident in Louisiana, the report said.
The man was held until he was sober and then released pending application for warrants. Eureka Police will seek charges against the man through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for tampering and DWI , Capt. David Wilson said.