Saint Francis man arrested for 4th OWI offense following crash on I-43

MILWAUKEE -- A 48-year-old Saint Francis man was arrested early Friday morning, February 9th for his fourth OWI offense.

Milwaukee County Sheriff deputies responded to a crash on I-43 NB near County Line Road at around 3:45 a.m. when Bayside police officers were at the scene and believed the driver was intoxicated.

Authorities say the driver lost control of his vehicle and hit the median barrier cables before sliding into a ditch. The driver said he had, " seven or eight" drinks at a bar in Saint Francis and was driving home.

Deputies performed field sobriety tests on the man who tested .14 on a preliminary breath test. The driver was then arrested for OWI, fourth offense.

Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt said, “Drink, drive, crash, go to the hospital and then off to jail, again and again and... fourth offense drunk driver…and NO, it's not okay! We will keep aggressively pursuing reckless, intoxicated drivers until the culture changes. Help sound the alarm, this behavior is NOT acceptable!”

If convicted of the fourth OWI charge, he faces up to six years in prison.