DWI suspect found unconscious in ditch
Police arrested an El Dorado man on December 4 after he was found unconscious behind the wheel of a truck pulling a trailer in the ditch on U.S. 167 in south Ruston.
Officers responded to a report of a crash in the 4200 block of S. Vienna Street (U.S. 167) about 11:00 a.m.. Denzel Thompson, 29, was found unconscious in the driver’s seat. After repeated requests, Thompson opened the door and officers observed Indications of impairment.
A records check showed Thompson did not have a driver’s license. He said he did not remember going off the road but said he apparently fell asleep.
Thompson said he was traveling from Ruston to El Dorado, but he was traveling in the wrong direction.
Thompson refused medical treatment. Field sobriety tests were conducted which showed impairment. Thompson was arrested and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for a breath test. The test showed a blood alcohol concentration of .015g%, well below Louisiana’s legal limit.
An officer attempted to administer field sobriety tests for drug impairment, but Thompson refused to submit to a blood draw for analysis for the presence of drugs.
Due to a record of a previous DWI, Thompson was booked for a second offense DWI, no license plate, no driver’s license, and careless operation of a vehicle. His bail was set at $2,500.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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