(La Porte, IN) - Seriously hurting a woman while driving drunk has not stopped the man who caused that collision in La Porte from taking the wheel again while impaired.
Jose Pedraza-Ayala, 52, is charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 6 felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle without ever obtaining a license, a Class C misdemeanor.
According to court documents, he was pulled over on April 16 for completely disregarding a stop sign at Andrew Ave. and 16th St. on La Porte’s southwest side.
Police said the smell of alcohol on his breath was detected by the officer but he denied having anything to drink. Pedraza-Ayala was taken into custody after refusing to take a certified blood alcohol test.
He did take a portable breathalyzer test, which registered a .222 percent blood alcohol level, police said.
Court records show Pedraza-Ayala in 2019 was given an 18 month sentence with the Indiana Department of Correction for Level 6 felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious injury.
In that case, Pedraza-Ayala had a blood alcohol level of more than four times the legal limit when he ran a stop sign and broadsided a car at 18th and I streets in La Porte.
The woman in the car suffered a broken pelvis, bruised or lacerated liver and broken sternum, according to court documents.
Court records reveal Pedraza-Ayala has one other OWI conviction.
