Utah police looking for impaired driver finds couple both had too much, police say

TOOELE, Utah (KSL.com) — A man who allegedly said he was driving because his wife had been drinking was arrested in Tooele County this week for investigation of DUI after troopers determined he also had been drinking.

Just after 5 a.m. Wednesday, security at a casino in Wendover contacted Tooele County dispatchers to report that an intoxicated woman had just left their casino with children in her vehicle, according to a police booking affidavit.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper reported spotting the car a little more than an hour later on I-80 near Delle. After pulling the car over, the trooper found a man in the driver’s seat, a woman in the passenger seat and three young children in booster or car seats in the back, the affidavit states.

The 35-year-old man said he did not have a valid driver’s license. While talking to the man, the trooper could detect an odor of alcohol on his breath, the affidavit states.

“He denied drinking any alcoholic beverages but confirmed his wife had been drinking and that was why he was driving,” the trooper wrote in the arrest report.

The man was arrested after allegedly failing a field sobriety test. His blood-alcohol level was tested in the field and measured a .091%, or nearly twice the legal limit, the affidavit states. The trooper then waited on scene to determine whether his wife would also be arrested. Ultimately, she was released to another family member who drove out to pick her up.

The man was then taken to the UHP office in Tooele where an Intoxilyzer test was conducted about three hours after the man was pulled over. His blood-alcohol level was measured at that time at .046%, according to the affidavit. But troopers felt there was still enough probable cause to arrest the man for investigation of DUI and three counts of child abuse.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated the driver’s blood-alcohol level measured at .46% but his blood-alcohol level was .046%.