Lang
3/20/21
A West Liberty man faces charges that he ditched his car after a drunk driving crash on Highway 6.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says just before 3:15 Saturday morning deputies found a badly damaged 2008 Lincoln MKZ in the ditch near the intersection of Highway 6 and Oasis Road. The vehicle had been abandoned, but there was blood inside and a Bud Light can on the ground nearby.
West Liberty Police checked the residence of the vehicle’s owner, who said 28-year-old Roberto Flores of North Calhoun Street had been driving. Officers then located Flores and believed him to be intoxicated.
Johnson County deputies questioned Flores, who allegedly smelled of ingested alcohol, showed signs of intoxication and claimed he’d just woken up. He allegedly claimed to have consumed three craft beers in downtown Iowa City earlier in the night, and said he had not had anything to drink since arriving home. Investigators say Flores initially denied even being in the crashed car, but then later said he went into the ditch because he was driving too fast to properly navigate the curve.
Flores allegedly did poorly on field sobriety tests and registered a blood alcohol content of .165% on a Datamaster test.
Flores is charged with Operating While Intoxicated – 2nd Offense. He also faces a Striking Fixtures charge after he struck and damaged a DOT sign near the Highway 6/Oasis Road intersection.