On March 11 a Folsom resident attempted to avoid his eighth DWI arrest during a traffic stop by jumping from the Causeway bridge and into the strong currents of Lake Pontchartrain. After rescue workers pulled him from the 60-degree water, and what the Causeway General manager said could have resulted in the man becoming “crabmeat”, he was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail, as reported by The Times-Picayune.
T.H., 44, was booked for DWI, resisting arrest, careless driving and as a fugitive from Jefferson Parish on outstanding warrants for a hit-and-run and reckless driving.
At approximately 5:40 p.m., after officers had been alerted that a vehicle was seen swerving and speeding, T.H. was pulled over halfway across the Causeway bridge.
Carlton Dufrechou, the Causeway’s GM, said that when T.H. was pulled over he got out of his car and put his hands up in the air before being asked to so by officers. Dufrechou noted that T.H. swayed on his feet and smelled of alcohol – he was also wearing a celebratory St Patrick’s Day necklace.
When the officer asked T.H. to produce the registration for his vehicle, T.H. went into his car and came back out holding a pile of papers and CDs.
At this time the officer asked T.H. to perform field sobriety tests, and T.H., though he originally agreed and did begin the testing – suddenly took off in a sprint toward the northern end of the crossover.
As an officer caught up with him but couldn’t manage to restrain him, T.H. jumped 20 feet into the lake. He was quickly out of sight in the rough waters according to Dufrechou.
Dufrechou said, “We were concerned that the current would just take him away.”
Rescuers from St. Tammany Parish began their search while the southbound lanes temporarily closed.
Dufrechou grabbed onto a utility building that was at the base of the bridge. Dufrechou said that “Had he not caught that, his next stop would have been Manchac.”
Rescue workers spotted him with their camera and threw him a life ring at approximately 6:15 p.m. and the bridge was quickly reopened.
D.H. has several DWI arrests beginning in Pennsylvania in June 1992, in St. Tammany Parish in 1999 and 2001, in New Orleans in 2002 and Jefferson Parish in 2007.
In March 2009 D.H. was stopped by a Louisiana State Police trooper and booked with his sixth DWI and the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney pursued a charge of first-offense DWI. D.H. pleaded guilty and received a two year sentence of probation.
DWI convictions add up for 10 years. D.H.’s current charge is third-offense DWI. He is being held without bond on his fugitive warrants and on $15,000 bond for the alleged driving violations.
Comparing time in jail verses the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain, Dufrechou commented, “He's a lot better off than being crabmeat.”
Contact a DUI attorney if this is your first, or most current, charge of DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI. An experienced DUI attorney would be the best person to help you.