By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
CARTERVILLE, Mo. — A rural Carterville man has learned that hopping on a riding lawn mower and heading down the road is not a way to skirt Missouri’s drunken-driving laws.
Police Chief William Cline said Monday that one of his officers arrested James K. Dennis, 47. He is charged with riding a lawn mower while intoxicated on the overpass of Missouri Highway 171 at Carterville. The officer spotted the slow rider northbound on the overpass about 1 p.m. Friday, Cline said.
Dennis was stopped and asked to take a field sobriety test, the police chief said. Dennis did not do well on the test, Cline said. His license was revoked, and he had some outstanding warrants from Joplin, the police chief said.
The officer took Dennis to the Joplin police station on the warrants and had a Breathalyzer test administered about an hour and a half later, Cline said.
Dennis was charged with a misdemeanor offense of driving while intoxicated, driving with a revoked license and driving an off-road vehicle on a highway.
The police chief said it is not the first time he has heard of someone being arrested for allegedly driving a lawn mower while intoxicated.
“It’s fairly common for people who have been revoked or have a DWI (on their record),” he said. “If they have to run to the store, they’ll hop on a mower thinking that’s all right.”
It’s not, the police chief said. It is illegal to operate any vehicle on a public thoroughfare while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he said.
Test results
The Breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.094 percent, said Carterville police Chief William Cline. The legal limit for driving in Missouri is 0.08 percent.
