Driver Arrested for DUI and No Interlock Device After Rolling His Car
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrested the driver of a vehicle after he left the roadway and rolled his car. The driver, charged with Driving Under the Influence and Operating a Vehicle without an Ignition Interlock Device, posted the $2,500 bond set by the courts and was released.
On March 11, 2022, at approximately 8:20 pm, Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported one-vehicle crash in a field near N. Wood Road and W. Charles Road. The caller stated the driver, later identified as 46-year-old Benjamin V. Valdez, appeared to be high or intoxicated.
A witness stated he saw the wreck and observed Valdez was the only person in the vehicle and that he watched Valdez exit the car through the driver’s door.
Deputies arrived and contacted Valdez, who had red/watery eyes, slurred speech, an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, and appeared unsteady on his feet. He was advised of his rights, and he agreed to answer questions. He admitted to drinking a beer but became irate and refused when asked to submit to field sobriety tests. He did admit that he was driving and was the only person inside the vehicle as he drove north on Wood Road at approximately 30 mph when the car left the roadway and rolled.
Valdez was advised he was under arrest for DUI and placed in the back of a patrol car. He again became irate and hit his head on the patrol car’s divider.
Valdez was transported to the hospital to be medically evaluated, and a search warrant for a blood sample was requested. Valdez continued to be belligerent at the hospital, and once a search warrant was granted, a blood sample was collected.
A driver’s license check showed Valdez was required to have an Ignition Interlock Device installed to drive. Deputies confirmed the vehicle Valdez was driving did not have an Ignition Interlock Device installed as required.
Valdez was booked into the Spokane County Jail for DUI and Operating a Vehicle without a required Ignition Interlock Device. His bond was set at $2,500 by the courts, which he posted and was released later in the afternoon on March 13, 2022.
