By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE — A 20-year-old Detroit man was arrested for drunken driving the evening of Nov. 30 after he slammed on his brakes, slid sideways then passed a police vehicle conducting a traffic stop on Outer Drive near the I-75 freeway.
A police officer pursued the driver with lights and sirens, and found him trying to pull into a parking spot at a liquor store near Fort Street and Outer Drive.
The man, who could not produce a driver’s license, was struggling with basic motor functions, had slurred speech, glossy eyes and smelled of intoxicants. A wine bottle was found on the floor of the car with some liquid still inside it.
The driver surrendered his keys to the police officer. His vehicle was impounded and towed, and standardized field sobriety tests were administered, which he failed.
After initially refusing, he agreed to a preliminary breath test, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.296, almost four times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
Because of his high level of intoxication, he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, per department policy.