SAFFORD – Late Monday night, an officer on patrol observed a vehicle make a right hand turn from 11th Avenue onto Highway 70, taking the outside lane and forcing an eastbound vehicle to step on their brakes. The officer watched as the vehicle could not maintain lane position, and moved from one lane to the other without signaling. The officer activated his emergency lights to pull the vehicle over. The vehicle pulled over to the shoulder of the road at 6th Avenue and the Highway. While doing so, the vehicle’s right front tire struck the curb, and continued all the way on top of the sidewalk and then back off the sidewalk onto the roadway.
The officer approached the driver of the vehicle and when the man opened his door a strong odor of an alcoholic type beverage could be smelled as the man spoke. When the officer asked for the man’s driving information, the man reportedly struggled removing his wallet from his pocket, which took a full minute. It took another full minute for the man to remove his ID from the wallet. The man was unable to provide the officer with insurance or the registration to the vehicle.
When the man spoke with the officer, his speech appeared to be slurred and his eyes were watery and droopy. The man stated he was headed back from a local bar where he had a couple of beers. After the officer conducted several sobriety tests and the preliminary breath test registering at 0.197, the man was placed under arrest. The officer allowed the man to use his cell phone to attempt to call for someone to pick up his vehicle. Meanwhile, the man was transported to the Safford Police Department. After an amount of time passed, the man informed the officer there was not a sober driver able to pick up the vehicle and a tow truck was called to remove the vehicle. The man consented to have his blood drawn and was fingerprinted. He was then released from the station. Results are pending.
