Motorcycle driver in crash faces OWI

A local man who was injured in a motorcycle crash on State Road 135 North last month now faces three misdemeanors for driving while intoxicated.

Branson Davis, 26, was charged May 7 with operating a vehicle while intoxicated — endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor; and operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.08 or more, a Class C misdemeanor.

The crash was reported just before 8 p.m. April 30 at the Bean Blossom Overlook, according to an accident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell.

Dispatch told officers that Davis was bleeding profusely. When Stargell and Sgt. Bill Southerland arrived, they saw Davis’ motorcycle on the west side of the road with Davis standing next to it. He told officers that he did not have a helmet on when he crashed and when he realized he was crashing, he covered his head and rolled to protect his head, the report states.

Davis had blood running down both arms and his tan pants were covered in blood. Stargell and Southerland treated Davis’ wounds until EMS arrived, according to the report. Davis reported having right shoulder pain, an injury to his right thumb and two lacerations on his left arm.

He said he was driving south on 135 North when he came around the left curve at the overlook and lost traction due to gravel in the road. His brother was riding with him and called 911, the report said.

While helping Davis into the ambulance, Southerland reported smelling alcohol on him. When Davis was exiting the vehicle, Southerland asked him if he had been drinking and Davis said he had a Four Lokos almost four hours earlier.

Davis agreed to submit to field tests. He failed the horizontal gaze test and the walk and turn test. A portable breath test showed Davis’ blood-alcohol content to be 0.09. When asked to submit to a certified breath test, Davis became “angry” and told the officers he had passed their tests. He said he knew he was under the legal limit, the report states.

Davis ultimately submitted to a breath “so he could prove me wrong,” Southerland reported.

Davis was taken to the jail to take a certified breath test, unrestrained due to his injuries. That test showed his BAC to be 0.08. He was then placed under arrest. In an interview with police, Davis admitted to trying to get his brother not to call 911, according to the report.

While he was being booked in, EMS reported that Davis needed to be taken to the hospital for treatment of an elbow injury. Davis was then released on his own recognizance so that his mother could take him to a hospital.

Woman arrested after accident

FRUITDALE — A 47-year-old Martinsville woman was arrested in Brown County May 5 after she was involved in a crash and police reported smelling alcohol on her.

Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell stopped Jennifer Blair on Fruitdale Road just before 7:30 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit. Stargell reported that Blair admitted to driving the vehicle and that a crash had just occurred. Details of that crash were not included in the probable cause affidavit.

During the stop, Stargell reported smelling alcohol on Blair, seeing alcohol beverage containers in the vehicle, that her speech was slurred, her eyes were red and watery, that her manual dexterity was poor and her balance was unsteady. Stargell also reported that her clothing was soiled and disorderly, according to the affidavit.

Blair failed the horizontal gaze test. A portable breath test showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.05. The legal limit for a driver is 0.08. Blair was taken to the Brown County jail and a warrant was obtained for a chemical test. The results of that test are still pending, the affidavit states.

On May 6, Blair was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated — endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.

Stop for no plate lights ends in charges

A traffic stop for no license plate lights resulted in a Monroe County man being charged with a misdemeanor for possessing marijuana.

Nashville Police Officer Evan Painter was monitoring traffic at State Road 46 West and Green Valley Church Road on March 23 when he noticed a vehicle pass by with no license plate lights, a probable cause affidavit states.

Painter initiated a stop on the vehicle near the Brown County Law Enforcement Center. After making contact with the driver, Anthony Bolser, 53, Painter reported smelling marijuana.

Bolser told Painter there was a marijuana “roach” in a pack of cigarettes near the center console. Painter reported finding the cigarette pack with the marijuana roach inside. No other illegal items were found in the vehicle.

Bolser was issued a summons for possession of marijuana and a warning for the license plate lights being out. A Class B misdemeanor charge was filed May 10.

Officers participate in Click It or Ticket

For the next few weeks, local law enforcement will be working overtime looking out for drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts.

Throughout May and the start of the summer, officers will be enforcing the Click It or Ticket campaign. Overtime costs will be paid for by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, according to a press release from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.

“Why are police warning everyone before the seat belt crackdown begins? Because we respond to traffic crashes and we see the preventable deaths and painful injuries from motorists not buckling up,” Sheriff Scott Southerland said in a press release.

Indiana law requires all drivers and passengers to buckle up. Children under the age of 8 must be properly restrained in a child car seat or booster seat, the release states.

Unrestrained motorists are more likely to die in crashes by 10 times in cars and SUVs, 14 times in pickup trucks and 15 times in vans, the release states.

“Has this message clicked for you? If you have a friend or a family member who does not buckle up, speak up. Ask them to change their habits,” Southerland said.

The sheriff’s department offers the following tips to reduce changes of injury or death: Secure the lap belt across your hips and pelvis, below your stomach; place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and rib cage, away from your neck; and never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.

If your seat belt doesn’t fit you, or you have an older car with lap belts only, ask your dealer or vehicle manufacturer about seat belt adjusters, extenders or retrofits.