The Duluth News Tribune has reported that a man has been arrested for suspicion of DUI after being seen driving a Zamboni erratically, running into the side of the ice rink, with blood-shot eyes and slurred speech.
The incident occurred on January 30 at the Hayes Arena in Apple Valley, Minnesota.
Witnesses – that included several spectators, hockey players and parents – reported seeing the ice rink attendant weave the heavy Zamboni across the rink before it smacked into the boards with all of its weight.
The resurfacing of the arena usually takes about 10 minutes, by the time it had stretched to 25, hockey coach Bryan Dornstreich called 911.
Once on scene police officers arrested the part-time ice rink employee, 34, of Apple Valley for alleged drunk driving. The man failed sobriety tests given at the rink and was then taken to police headquarters for a blood alcohol test.
The results of the blood sample, sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, were not available.
Though not yet formally charged, the man has a previous DUI record of convictions: one in 2002 and two in 1999.
Dornstreich noted that the man had red eyes and smelled like an energy drink. Dornstreich commented that in the beginning of the evening, “He looked like I do when I have my allergy attacks. I didn't really think anything of it. He didn't slur his words. He was very alert, got me the keys, we set up the music system and I was on my way.”
But later, when the ice rink was about to be filled with young hockey players, Dornstreich noticed that the attendant had left stripes on the ice, which he later went back and corrected.
When the players left the ice later, the attendant’s erratic driving had decidedly worsened. A parent alerted Dornstreich that the man was now “weaving all over” and “slurring his words.”
After speaking to the parent, Dornstreich said that the man was back on the ice and was beginning to back up the Zamboni to park it into the garage. Dornstreich alerted the referee on the ice as to what was happening and then focused on moving everyone away from the glass.
In the state of Minnesota DUI charges are not limited to average motor vehicles. Drunken drivers behind the wheel of souped-up motorized recliners, farm tractors, forklifts, Bobcats and lawn mowers can all be charged.
One man escaped a DUI charge in 2011: the Minnesota Court of Appeals allowed that a physically disabled man driving a motorized scooter could not be convicted. The law now reads that exceptions will be made for “an electric personal assistive mobility device” in the case of a DUI charge.
The disabled man’s scooter was deemed a wheelchair and not a motor vehicle by the appeals court.
In this case, the large motor-powered Zamboni will most likely be seen in the category of vehicles that are chargeable under Minnesota’s DUI laws.
For charges stemming from DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, you must contact a DUI attorney. Whether you reside in the state of Minnesota or not, a DUI attorney will be expert in the laws that govern your state.