LAWRENCE CO. — A Bedford man was arrested early Friday morning after allegedly crashing his vehicle into a guardrail on State Road 37 and attempting to flee the scene on foot.
The suspect, identified as David Johnson, 25, of Bedford.
The incident occurred on October 10, at approximately 2:13 a.m.. Deputy Michael Martin of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident near the intersection of State Road 37 and Trogden Lane. Deputies Clifford Pruett and Kyle Long, along with medical personnel, also responded.
Central Dispatch reported that a male passerby witnessed the accident. The witness told police he observed a passenger vehicle strike a guardrail, stop, and the driver immediately flee on foot into the wooded area east of the road. The witness described the suspect as wearing khaki pants and a red hoodie.
Upon arrival at 2:18 a.m., Deputy Pruett secured the wrecked vehicle while Deputies Martin and Long began an immediate search of the area. After an initial unsuccessful vehicle search, the officers returned to the scene and conducted a foot search of the nearby woods, but were still unable to locate the driver.
Shortly after returning to their patrol vehicles, Deputies Martin and Long observed a male subject approaching from the north with his hands raised. The individual was wearing the exact clothing described by the witness.
The male was taken into custody without incident and identified as David Johnson, of Bedford.
While speaking with Johnson, Deputy Martin reported detecting a strong odor of alcohol emitting from his person. Johnson admitted to consuming approximately six beers. He failed field sobriety tests.
After being read his Miranda rights and the Indiana implied consent advisement, Johnson agreed to submit to a chemical test. He was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital for a blood draw.
While at the hospital, Johnson voluntarily provided a breath sample using a portable breath test, which allegedly registered a blood alcohol content of 0.195, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 in Indiana.
A registered nurse drew two vials of blood for official toxicology analysis. After being medically cleared, Johnson was transported to the Lawrence County Jail and booked on charges of operating a vehicle endangerment, OWI with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 or greater, and leaving the scene of an accident.
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.
