Hunter
10/28/20
A Lisbon man who was arrested for his second OWI Tuesday night claimed car trouble caused his vehicle to back into a light pole.
Iowa City Police say they were called to the parking lot at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church just after 11pm when a caller reported hearing a “crunch” and saw that a vehicle had backed into a light pole. Upon arrival, a man was observed sitting in the vehicle, still backed up against the pole.
58-year-old Michael Hamilton allegedly told police that he had mechanical issues with his car while driving on South First Avenue and pulled into the church parking lot, sat for about 45 minutes, and then the vehicle, a 2005 Saturn Ion, rolled into the light pole.
Hamilton reportedly admitted to consuming a couple of alcoholic beverages prior to driving and said that it had been about an hour since he had one before police made contact with him. He failed field testing, and was unable to provide a PBT sample despite multiple attempts. Hamilton also refused a Datamaster test.
He was charged with his second OWI, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by a prison term of up to two years if convicted.