California man who wrecked semi on I80 arrested on drug charges

Hunter
08/05/21

A California man who hung his semi up on the median cable barrier on I80 Wednesday night was arrested on an outstanding warrant and OWI charges.

Authorities were alerted to the incident just after 9:45 pm and found the Freightliner semi at around the 230 mile marker. A trooper identified the driver as 37-year-old Raman Rampal of Livingston California. A check of his records showed a warrant for his arrest on a controlled substance charge out of Missouri, and he was placed under arrest.

A subsequent search allegedly turned up about a gram of suspected methamphetamine in Rampal’s pocket; field testing confirmed it was amphetamine. He was then taken to the Coralville Police Department where he reportedly failed field testing. A DRE evaluation determined that he was impaired at the time of the accident.

Rampal was charged with OWI first offense and meth possession. He could be sentenced to up to two years in jail if convicted on both counts.