Man on lawn mower charged with public intoxication; police say BAC was 5 times legal limit
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An Indiana man is facing a public intoxication charge after he was pulled over on a riding lawn mower in Evansville on Saturday afternoon after police say his blood alcohol content was 0.445—more than five times the legal limit of .08, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.
Witnesses called police and said Trevor Bates, 27, was swerving into traffic and nearly fell off the mower more than once. He had his daughter on his lap and a 50-year-old woman riding on the deck of the machine.
Earlier in the weekend, a Kentucky man also was pulled over while operating a lawn mower. Billy Strange, 57, was arrested at about 10:15 p.m. Friday and charged with driving under the influence after blowing a .151, police in Clay City said.
The legal limit in that state is also .08., according to WKYT and WTVQ. At last report, Strange was being held in the Powell County detention center.
It isn’t clear from news coverage why Bates was charged with public intoxication rather than drunken driving. An Associated Press article last year reported that the Indiana Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of the state’s misdemeanor public intoxication offense, which defines the crime as being drunk in a public place and engaging in conduct that “harasses, annoys or alarms” others.
Related coverage:
Associated Press (2013): “Man charged with DUI on riding lawn mower”
See also:
ABAJournal.com (2011): “Pulled Over While Riding Motorized Plastic Beer Cooler, Man Blows 0.16, Loses Driving Privileges”
