Columbus Police officers arrested two drivers on separate traffic stops for operating a vehicle while intoxicated within four hours late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
Columbus Police Officer Robert Mitchell saw a vehicle traveling west in the eastbound lane of McKinley Avenue near McClure Road at 11:10 p.m. Saturday, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.Mitchell stopped the vehicle and saw that the driver, Shannon E. Hickey, 30, Columbus, appeared to be intoxicated, Harris said.
After failing a field sobriety test, Hickey was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood draw, Harris said. She was then taken to the Bartholomew County Jail on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a previous conviction within five years.
Officer Michael Butler was sent to the intersection of Gladstone and Indiana avenues at 3 a.m. Sunday about a driver who had run off the road, Harris said. Butler found the vehicle partially in the roadway with front-end damage, Harris said.
When Butler spoke with the driver, Hector M. Almo Tapia, 36, Columbus, he detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on Tapia’s breath, Harris said. Tapia failed one field sobriety test and refused to complete the others, Harris said. He was taken to the hospital for a blood draw and later was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a property-damage accident.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
