Man arrested for DWI, drug possession after crashing into tree

An Austin man was arrested on drunken driving and drug possession charges after he crashed his vehicle into a tree early Saturday morning in Central Austin.

John Smith*, 39, lost control of his 1999 Toyota, which jumped over the curb and struck a tree in the 2500 block of North Lamar Boulevard around 3:30 a.m. According to the arrest affidavit, the vehicle was not drivable after the crash.

Government senior Ejovwo Omerhi is a resident at a nearby apartment complex and heard the crash.

“I heard brakes squeal, then a really loud thump,” Omerhi said. “I looked out my window, but couldn’t see anything. It was blocked by another building.”

Within 10 minutes of the crash, Austin police officer Lewis Holland drove past Smith on the opposite side of the road and turned around. The affidavit states that there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from Smith. When questioned by Holland, Smith admitted to drinking prior to the crash.

An ambulance was called for precautionary measures although Smith appeared to be uninjured. Smith then refused to speak to the officers and would speak only with EMS personnel, but refused medical treatment, according to the affidavit.

Smith first claimed he was driving to work from home, but later explained that he was on his way home from The Yellow Rose, a gentlemen’s club on North Lamar Boulevard near West Koenig Lane. The affidavit states he claimed to have consumed four mixed drinks containing rum.

Smith then requested to be taken to Seton Medical Center. The affidavit mentions that he refused to take a sobriety test while in the hospital. Based on Holland’s observations and the inconsistency of Smith’s explanations, Holland placed Smith under arrest for DWI. Holland then searched Smith and found three small bags containing 0.84 grams of what was later confirmed to be cocaine.

According to the pretrial services paperwork, Smith is being charged only for the DWI, a class B misdemeanor. His bail was set at $3,500.

Luci Zavala, a hostess at The Yellow Rose, said there is no definite cut-off point for serving alcohol to patrons.

“It’s just kind of up to the waitress to keep an eye on their tables and once they get to a point where they have had too much, [the waitresses] offer them food,” Zavala said. “If they are at a table, we have these little cards that we put on the table. They are just red cards that mean they are cut off, and you can’t serve them.”

Zavala said that when a patron is visibly drunk, they urge them to take a cab.

“Sometimes if somebody refuses a cab… we’ll try to take their keys. If that doesn’t work, then what they end up doing is… just kind of get the guy’s license plate number and call the police,” Zavala said.

*Name changed at request to protect the defendant’s privacy and avoid his appearance in internet search results.