Iowa City man charged with OWI and child endangerment after testing showed dangerous intoxication
Hunter
12/02/24
An Iowa City man was charged with two counts of child endangerment after allegedly driving them while being dangerously intoxicated.
The children were with 49-year-old Matthew Eldeen of Ronalds Street Saturday just after 4pm when he slammed on his brakes in the middle of the road. They called their mother, who in turn contacted emergency services for a welfare check. Officers located Eldeen on the 100 block of Fairchild Street.
He allegedly had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, and smelled of ingested alcohol. After failing field sobriety tests, Eldeen consented to chemical testing, which showed his breath-alcohol level at .312 percent.
Medical experts say a blood alcohol concentration of 0.30% or higher is dangerously high and can lead to loss of consciousness, Irregular breathing, Loss of bladder control, Increased heart rate, and Increased risk of death.
Eldeen was charged with first offense OWI and two counts of child endangerment. He could face a prison sentence of up to five years if convicted on all counts.