Tehachapi News

Man arrested for riding his bicycle...

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Drunk driving is still drunk driving, even if you’re pedaling on a bicycle, a Tehachapi man learned recently. 

Tehachapi Police Chief Jeff Kermode said on the afternoon of Aug. 17 police observed a man on a bicycle weaving left and right in an alley between Pauley and Currey Streets.

“His feet were coming off the pedals.” Kermode said.

An officer in a patrol car, observing that the bicycle rider neglected to stop at Curry and pulled out in front of a car, turned on its lights to make a stop.

“He rode into the curb, almost falling over,” Kermode said the officers reported. “There was a strong odor of alcohol.”

According to the police report, the bicycle-rider said he had ingested 24 ounces of Bud Ice and a pint of vodka. The officers asked the man to take a field sobriety test.

“I can’t pass them,” he allegedly responded. “I’m too drunk.”

Two Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) tests showed the man’s blood alcohol level to be .20 and .24.

“That’s three times the legal limit,” Kermode said.

The officers arrested Edwards Louis Foley, 31, of Tehachapi, under section 21200.5 of the vehicle code, DUI on a bicycle.

Foley provided a blood sample and was released on a promise to appear.
Kermode said that a person also can be arrested for riding drunk on a horse, as a horse is considered a vehicle.