ST. GEORGE – Officers arrested a St. George man for his third consecutive offense of driving under the influence of alcohol Saturday after he collided with a car in a fast food drive-thru in St. George before passing out.
Police responded to Alberto’s Mexican Food, located at 705 N. Bluff St., on a traffic incident in which a man drove his white Crown Victoria into a parked car in the restaurant’s drive-thru while traveling approximately 2 mph, St. George Police Officer Cameron McCullough said in a probable cause statement supporting the arrest.
When police tried to make contact with the man, later identified as 29-year-old Zane Craig Baum, he was still in the drive-thru and was slumped over behind the steering wheel of the vehicle, according to the statement.
“I knocked on the window, but (Baum) was not responsive,” McCullough wrote in the statement. “I began pounding on the door and window asking (Baum) to open it.”
According to the statement, officers were finally able to get Baum’s attention when they yelled to him that they would have to break the window if he did not respond.
“(Baum) slowly looked at me and opened the door,” McCullough said.
Officers could immediately smell the odor of alcohol on Baum’s breath, according to the statement, and described Baum’s eyes as “blood shot” and “glossy.”
The Crown Victoria was still in gear so officers asked Baum to put the vehicle in park.
“(Baum) then took his foot off the brake and began to roll forward,” McCullough said in the statement.
Officers again told Baum to put the vehicle in park and to exit the vehicle, at which point Baum complied.
“(Baum) was unable to stand under his own power,” McCullough said, “and had to lean up against the car for balance.”
According to the statement, when medical responders asked Baum what had happened, he admitted he “drank too much alcohol.”
Baum was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. He was charged with a third-degree felony for his third subsequent offense of driving under the influence of alcohol; and three class B misdemeanors for driving under the influence as an alcohol-restricted driver, being an interlock-restricted driver operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock system, and driving on a revoked driver’s license.
Baum’s charges were enhanced for having two prior DUI convictions wthin a time period of less than nine years.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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Thats way too much to drink. He should of stayed home and made a sandwich and post comments on st George news.
or he could of took a cab
And looking at his arrest report online, it would appear someone was killed resulting from one of his previous drinking/driving adventures. People that insist on drinking and driving need to go away for a long long time. Also, if there is any doubt that he is also a danger to himself, look at his arrest picture, and his lovely purple eyes. It isn’t even from the latest booking. The police just keep the old picture handy since they know he will be visiting them again.
That’s shameful, that’s what it is. Such people kill innocent people when they get behind the wheel. If you use alcohol or other drugs, DO NOT DRIVE!!
Should of taken a cab home its cheaper than a DUI