Suspected drunk driver blows 0.000 on breathalyzer

stock photo of Intoxilyer 9000

By Joe Johnson

Luke Strickland was driving in downtown Athens early the morning of July 5th when he was pulled over by a police officer who activated his patrol car’s emergency lights and siren.

The officer explained in his report that he conducted the traffic stop because Strickland’s car failed to stop behind the stop bar on West Washington Street at Pulaski Street, and also because the car’s third brake light wasn’t working.

When speaking to the motorist the officer noticed an odor of alcoholic beverage, to which Strickland explained that he didn’t drink but was exposed to alcohol in his job as a barback at the Silver Dollar on College Avenue,

When asked to submit to roadside sobriety testing, the young man declined and so he was arrested for suspicion of DUI.

He did agree to be breath tested and was taken to the downtown police station, where an Intoxilyzer 9000 machine determined that his blood-alcohol content was 0.000 percent.

A different police officer drove the 20-year-old Lilburn resident back to his car.

The police report didn’t indicate whether Strickland was cited for any traffic infractions.