A Winamac man was arrested after his Jeep struck a telephone pole and disrupting power in the area of 125 E. near 250 N. in Pulaski County. According to the incident report, an officer from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the area and found a silver Jeep SUV in a field with heavy front-end damage, and a telephone pole leaning over the roadway.
After requesting assistance from the fire department, EMS, and another officer, the reporting officer approached the vehicle and found a man who identified himself as Nathan Shidler in the driver’s seat. The officer noticed the smell of alcohol in the vehicle and noticed Shidler’s speech was slurred, and asked him what had happened. According to Shidler, he had reached down to change a song on his iPod–but when he looked up, he was heading off road and was unable to avoid colliding with the pole.
Several sobriety tests were conducted, which Shidler reportedly failed. Shidler was arrested and taken to the Pulaski County Jail, where he gave a certified breath sample of .16 BAC. Shidler was booked into the jail on charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, and Operating While Intoxicated Endangering a Person.
