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Published April 07, 2009, 08:33 AM

Driver allegedly drunk may have fallen asleep before crashing

A 21-year-old UW-River Falls student rearended another vehicle with his pickup truck Saturday after midnight at Main and Walnut streets. The student was then arrested for drunk driving and allegedly said he’d fallen asleep, didn’t see the crash but heard the noise.

By: Phil Pfuehler, River Falls Journal

A 21-year-old UW-River Falls student rearended another vehicle with his pickup truck Saturday after midnight at Main and Walnut streets. The student was then arrested for drunk driving and allegedly said he’d fallen asleep, didn’t see the crash but heard the noise.

The driver had been followed from Hwy. 35 by another driver who said the suspect was speeding and swerving while passing on the highway. Police joined the pursuit but didn’t catch up until coming upon the crash scene downtown.

In the past week police had other drunk driving and various issues to contend with:

  • Arrested a 22-year-old UW-RF student for drunk driving and drug paraphernalia possession at 11 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of North Main Street. The student was first stopped for speeding. A glass pipe allegedly used for smoking pot was taking from his car’s center console. A male passenger, also a local college student, was ticketed for underage drinking.

  • Arrested a 33-year-old River Falls man for drunk driving-2nd offense at 2:40 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Spring Street. The suspect, westbound, was allegedly driving the wrong way on the one-way street. He also allegedly crossed Second Street without stopping.

  • Arrested a 29-year-old Rochester, Minn., man for drunk driving and open intoxicants in his pickup truck at 2:50 a.m. Sunday on Hwy. 29 on the city’s south side. A rural River Falls driver, also northbound on Hwy. 29, called in to complain about the Rochester driver. He was allegedly seen crossing the highway center line. After a search, an officer claimed he found vodka in the suspect’s pickup.

  • Arrested a 20-year-old UW-RF student for hit and run in the 200 block of South Main Street at 2:45 p.m. Saturday. The woman allegedly rearended another driver who was trying to park in the median, then drove on. Witnesses said she stopped by Ezekiel Lutheran Church to get out and check her car for front-end damage before again driving off. She was later caught and given a $350 fine.

    Police are also investigating some recent mailbox vandalisms in the 100 block of East Johnson Street, a weekend home burglary in the 700 block of South Wasson Lane, and the theft of new pagers and radios totaling more than $12,000 from a locked cabinet at the River Falls Ambulance building. The later was first reported March 12. Call police investigator John Wilson at 425-0909 if you have information on this crime.

    For more, read Police Beat in Section C of the Journal’s April 8 print edition.

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