PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A Parke County driver whose blood alcohol level was allegedly close to three times the legal limit is in custody after officials said they almost had a head-on collision with a sheriff’s deputy.
According to the Parke County Sheriff’s Office, early Sunday morning, a deputy was almost struck by another vehicle at the intersection of East Ohio Street and North Virginia Street after a Dodge Ram truck turned westbound on Virginia Street into the deputy’s lane of traffic.
The driver was also allegedly driving without headlights.
A traffic stop was then conducted on the vehicle. During that stop, the deputy had the driver, Lane Atkinson, 21, of Montezuma, step out of the vehicle where he “failed to maintain his balance,” said the sheriff’s office.
A standard field sobriety test was then conducted, but “had to be stopped because the male (Atkinson) could not maintain his balance,” said the sheriff’s office.
According to the sheriff’s office, Atkinson’s blood alcohol level was found to be 0.234%, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08%.
Atkinson was then transported to a local hospital for his level of intoxication. After being medically cleared, Atkinson was taken into custody for OWI-endangering a person, and OWI with a BAC greater than 0.150.
