Hunter
05/10/21
Iowa City police had a rare law enforcement double play early Sunday morning, arresting two different drivers at the exact same time for OWI just three blocks apart.
At 1:36 am, 24-year-old Ian Lauterbach of Iowa Avenue was involved in a motor vehicle accident on the 600 block of East Burlington Street. The occupants of the vehicle Lauterbach allegedly struck told officers they believed him to be intoxicated. An impaired driving investigation reportedly showed Lauterbach to be visibly intoxicated, with bloodshot watery eyes, impaired speech, impaired balance, and the odor of ingested alcohol. Lauterbach allegedly admitted to drinking, and after showing significant impairment on field tests, a Datamaster showed a blood-alcohol level of .233 percent.
Lauterbach was charged with his first OWI, a serious misdemeanor.
At the exact same time, 1:36 am, 21-year-old Sydney Owens of Weeber Street allegedly ran a red light heading eastbound on Burlington Street at its intersection with Linn Street. After stopping at the next light, Owens turned right and hit a curb when stopped by police. She reportedly had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, poor balance, and had an odor of ingested alcohol. She blew a .193 on a preliminary breath test and .156 on a subsequent Datamaster test.
Owens, too, was charged with her first OWI and failure to obey a traffic signal.