A few nights ago I recieved a call from a driver, EB I-20 MM 386/387, in Palo Pinto county, reporting a TT/ST who was unable to maintain single lane or speed, who almost hit several other vehicles and the caller was POSITIVE that the driver was intoxicated. I stayed on the line with the caller while I performed a broadcast and called out updates on location by mile markers and exit's.OldCurlyWolf wrote:Yours had a much better ending than the one I followed for over 30 miles and could not get a single officer to respond.
It was around thanksgiving of 2001. I was in Oklahoma headed south to Dallas on I-35. About Exit 24 a drunk got on the highway headed south. This turkey was from the northbound lanes to 100 feet West of the southbound lanes. I could not get OHP, Marietta, Love County , DPS, Cooke County or Gainesville PD to respond to take this yahoo off the road. And I followed him until he stopped at a house in Gainesville, exited his vehicle and wobbled and stumbled until he got inside a house.
To say it nicely, I was Highly Incensed!!!
I later sent off some NASTY emails to the various LEA's involved and the only one that even responded was OHP. And they did so quite professionally, the rest can go do something that the moderators wouldn't like me to post.
The closest THP unit that I had available was about the 415 MM in Parker County. We managed to get the trooper to set up at the 406 MM and to wait until the TT/ST went by so that he could effect a traffic stop. The trooper was able to obtain PC (most likely the crossing of lanes) and did not request the complaintant to pull in behind him during the traffic stop.
The trooper effected traffic stop on the TT/ST from California and ran 27, 28 and 29's along with a 43 and driving history on the driver. All came back clean/clear. After just a few moments the trooper came back on the radio and advised me that the driver was simply sleepy, that he was almost to his destination in Ft. Worth and that the shock of the traffic stop woke the driver up enough so he was allowed to continue on to his desination rather than be put out of service at a truck stop.
I wish this was the norm, however many times the troopers are already on traffic stops/working crashes or patrolling another stretch of highway and unable to respond (for instance the driver being reported is on I-20 and my troopers are on US 377. In this case it is simply impossible for a trooper to transverse some 30-40 miles of back country roads before the suspected driver is either no longer being followed by the reporting party or makes it home, as in your case.)
All calls such as this are taken, recorded in the log and broadcast; hopefully we'll have sufficent resources to get the offender located and stopped. And, if they are 10-55 taken to jail! There have been times with such a call as this the driver wasn't drunk but having a diabetic condition which required an ambulance to be dispatched. Or, as of one case... the driver was simply eating an burito and not paying attention to where he was going.
There are all kinds! One lady called in to report a driver in the left lane of I-20. I asked what was the reason for the call, she responded: "She's driving in the left lane and texting." I asked if she was speeding or if she was unable to maintain her lane; her answer was: "No." But, she wanted a trooper to stop her because she was holding up the people who wanted to drive faster than she was going. When I asked how fast she was going the caller responed: "70, but 'I' need to get home."
(I guess she wanted to speed.)
Russ