An Arizona dad made national headlines when he was arrested for DUI after he passed out in a pick-up lane at an elementary school.
NBC affiliate in Mesa, Arizona, station WLIX reports that the incident happened on Monday, October 24, at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School when a parent in the pick-up lane was found unconscious in his vehicle. School administrators called the police to report the incident.
When police officers arrived at the scene, the man was attempting to crawl into the passenger seat of his car. Eyewitnesses to the incident told officers that he had been in the driver’s seat before their arrival.
When questioned by police, 35-year-old Alejandro Lopez told the officers he had not been driving. The investigating officers, however, reported that Lopez had bloodshot, watery eyes and that they smelled alcohol on Lopez’s breath. While searching Lopez’s vehicle, officers found an open container of Twisted Tea in the driver’s side cup holder.
Officers also found two young children in the car’s back seat in child safety seats. Later, after further questioning, Lopez admitted that he had drunk a shot of Fireball Whiskey and had a Twisted Tea before coming to pick up his children.
A preliminary test revealed that Lopez had a blood-alcohol level of .218 – almost three times the legal limit of .08 percent.
Lopez was arrested at the scene on two counts of aggravated DUI with a passenger under the age of 15, one count of extreme DUI with a BAC higher than .08 percent, and child endangerment.
The children were unharmed and were released to the custody of family members.
