Associated Press
LAKE CRYSTAL, Minn. — A police officer in southern Minnesota stopped only one car, but he ended up arresting two people for drunken driving.
Lake Crystal Police say officer Joe Swenson stopped a 25-year-old driver Tuesday and gave him a field sobriety test. He determined the man was drunk, so he arrested him and put the man in his squad car.
While Swenson was taking care of paperwork, he saw the passenger of the car, a 40-year-old man, jump into the driver’s seat and speed away.
With the first DWI suspect in the back, police say Swenson followed the man, who eventually stopped but refused to take an alcohol breath test.
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Lake Crystal Police Chief Tony Cornish says he’s seen drivers attempt to switch seats with sober passengers, but he says he’s never heard of a passenger taking off with a car when they’re not in trouble.
Cornish says the man probably would have gotten a ride home but "in this case, he got a ride to jail instead."
