BEDFORD – Around 8 p.m. on July 4, Lawrence County Sherriff’s Department officers Compton and Duncan were dispatched to the Avoca minimart on a request for service involving a man who seemed to have passed out slumped over his steering wheel.
Upon arrival, Officer Duncan noted the man, Kalpeshkumar Patel of Ellettsville, had exited his vehicle and, leaving it running, stumbled towards the door of the establishment. The vehicle itself was parked halfway on a concrete rise that gas pumps once sat on, and rather close to the establishment itself.
When Officer Compton arrived shortly after, he approached the man and requested identification. Patel led the officer back to his vehicle, sat inside, and located his driver’s license, which he handed over. Patel’s sense of orientation was noticeably hindered as he offered the license to Officer Compton a good distance above the officer’s outstretched hand.
Officer Compton asked Patel to exit and come to the front of the vehicle, and the man answered, but it took a good minute and multiple requests for him to cooperate. Patel denied drinking and told the officer that he was not driving. Patel’s behavior continued to be delayed in this manner throughout.
Upon request, Patel agreed to take the sobriety tests, but could not complete several. Despite instructions and examples, a breath test was not obtained due to Patel’s inability to complete it. At this point the officers read the man his rights, obtained confirmation of understanding, and transported Patel to IU Bedford for a blood draw.
Patel was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
