Two local residents were arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in separate incidents about 90 minutes apart Tuesday night.
Columbus police were sent to the 800 block of East County Road 450S at 6 p.m. Tuesday, near the Bartholomew County landfill, about a report of a suspected impaired driver.
When officers arrived, Indiana State Police were already at the scene, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman. Officers spoke with Dustin J. Thompson, 29, Columbus, and noticed his speech was slurred, Harris said.
Thompson was transported to the Columbus Police Department where a provided a breath sample of .261 percent, more than three times the legal limit, Harris said. Thompson was arrested on a preliminary felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a previous conviction, Harris said.
At about 7:15 p.m., officers were sent to the roundabout near Indianapolis Road and Lindsey Street about a property-damage accident, Harris said.
Officers suspected that one of the drivers, Tracey J. Owen, 56, Columbus, was possibly impaired after they spoke with her, Harris said. Owen failed several field sobriety tests at the scene and was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood draw, Harris said.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Owen refused to submit to a blood test and officers sought and received a search warrant for the blood draw.
Owen was arrested on a preliminary charge of misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated and taken to the Bartholomew County Jail, Harris said.
For more on these arrests, see Thursday’s Republic.
