BEDFORD – A Bedford man was arrested early Saturday, April 26, after a police officer allegedly observed his vehicle drifting over the center line multiple times.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Officer Zakry E. Brooking, Matthew K. Stewart, 41, faces charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and OWI endangerment.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., Officer Brooking was on patrol eastbound on 5th Street near K Street when he reportedly saw a silver Honda CRV in front of him drift over the center line. The officer continued to follow the vehicle and observed it drift over the center line two more times before initiating a traffic stop near the intersection of 5th Street and Bailey Scales Road. The car pulled over on Bailey Scales Road next to an empty lot.
Upon making contact with the driver, identified as Matthew Stewart, he stated he was taking two passengers home from a bar. Officer Brooking reported detecting the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle and noted that Stewart’s speech was slurred. When asked how much he had to drink, Stewart allegedly stated “a couple,” clarifying it to be three or four drinks and that he had stopped drinking one to two hours prior. Stewart agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tests, which he failed.
Stewart then consented to a preliminary breath test (PBT), which registered a result of 0.100, and he agreed to a blood draw at IU Health Bedford Hospital.
Following the blood draw, Stewart was transported to the Lawrence County Jail for housing.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the Probable Cause Affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
