Driver arrested for 6th OWI offense in Racine County as part of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign

RACINE COUNTY -- Racine County sheriff's officials said four people were arrested on Saturday night, Dec. 15 into Sunday morning, Dec. 16, on the second day of the nationwide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign aimed at curbing impaired driving. One driver was arrested for his sixth OWI offense.

The first arrest happened around 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the Village of Raymond. Sheriff's officials said a call came in for a vehicle in the ditch, and the caller said the driver might be impaired due to slurred speech. Additionally, the caller noted the driver asked the caller repeatedly not to call police. Deputies arrested a 56-year-old Milwaukee woman for OWI, first offense.

More than three hours later, around 11:30 p.m., deputies received a call from Franklin police, who said they were out with a witness who observed a semi that knocked down signs on the road with his semi tractor-trailer. The semi's driver, a 69-year-old Las Vegas man, was arrested for OWI, first offense, hit-and-run of property adjacent to a highway and failure to notify police of a crash. Sheriff's officials said the incident took place in the Village of Raymond -- but the semi and driver were found just into Franklin.

The third incident happened just before 1 a.m. Sunday, when a deputy on patrol spotted a vehicle stalled in traffic with its hazard lights on. After the vehicle was moved off the roadway, fresh damage was observed on the front of it, and it was leaking fluids. The driver, a 42-year-old Union Grove man, said he did not recall hitting anything while driving. Sheriff's officials said he displayed signs of intoxication, and failed field sobriety tests. He was arrested for OWI, first offense.

Less than an hour-and-a-half later, around 2:30 a.m., a deputy on patrol spotted a vehicle traveling at speeds of 60 miles-per-hour in a 35 miles-per-hour zone. The driver, a 38-year-old Rochester man, was found to have a revoked license for prior OWI offenses. Sheriff's officials said he failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for operating with a restricted controlled substance, sixth offense. Sheriff's officials said he admitted to using heroin in the past, but not recently.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign continues through New Year's Day.