(La Porte County, IN) - A man apparently trying to drive back home to La Porte had a bad start to his New Year, having allegedly crashed and wound up spending New Year’s Eve in jail.

 

Francisco Marrufo-Torres, 39, is charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated. According to La Porte County Police, the investigation indicates he left a bar in Michigan City and was on his way home in La Porte.  He was about halfway home when he struck two telephone junction boxes on Johnson Road near 400 West.

 

He traveled a short distance before coming to rest in a field with parts of his car scattered on the ground. Police said an officer responding to another call before 4 a.m. on December 31 came across evidence of a motor vehicle crash and found him sleeping behind the wheel of his car.

 

According to the authorities, he refused to take a breathalyzer test after showing obvious signs of impairment, including the odor of alcohol on his breath and difficulty walking.  A can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer was also spotted in a cup holder in the vehicle, police said.

 

The charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to a level 6 felony because of a prior OWI conviction from 2016.