A Californian man was arrested by police on Feb. 24 for DUI on a highly unusual mode of transport on a state freeway.
Luis Alfredo Perez, 29, of Placentia, California, was pulled over at around 1 a.m. after police noticed he was riding a horse on the 91 Freeway in Long Beach, about 20 minutes southeast of Los Angeles, reported ABC News.
Police said after performing a sobriety field test on the 29-year-old, they found Perez’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for the state.
In response to the incident, Californian Highway Patrol (CHP) made a couple of tweets to remind people of the dangers of being intoxicated on the freeway.
“No, you may not ride your horse on the freeway, and certainly not while intoxicated,” the highway patrol agency tweeted on Feb. 24.
No, you may not ride your horse on the freeway, and certainly not while intoxicated. #CHP pic.twitter.com/IQ09Qgeq4j
— CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) February 24, 2018
“Don’t put yourself, your beautiful animal, or others in danger of being killed in traffic.
So a horse walks onto the 91 freeway…no joke. Rider arrested by CHP for DUI in the greater Long Beach area. Don’t put yourself, your beautiful animal, or others in danger of being killed in traffic. @CBSLA @NBCLA @KTLA @ABC7 @FOXLA @CNN @FoxNews @ABC @NBCNews @CBSNews @CHP_HQ pic.twitter.com/YdiL54ctvQ
— CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) February 25, 2018
“We get a chuckle out of the interesting situations we encounter from time to time, but one thing the CHP does not do is “horse” around with DUI,” they added.
We get a chuckle out of the interesting situations we encounter from time to time, but one thing the CHP does not do is “horse” around with DUI.
— CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) February 25, 2018
The CHP also said in a later tweet that “a person riding an animal upon a highway is subject to all of the same rights and DUTIES as someone operating a vehicle upon a highway. Drivers have a duty to not drive under the influence.”
It’s actually 23152 VC (the normal DUI section) per 21050 VC, which states that a person riding an animal upon a highway is subject to all of the same rights and DUTIES as someone operating a vehicle upon a highway. Drivers have a duty to not drive under the influence. ??
— CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) February 25, 2018
Perez’s white Arabian horse, Guera, who was unharmed from the incident, was released to his mother almost immediately after the arrest, reported the news station, citing the CHP.
The agency said “getting a lot of out of the ordinary animals on our urban freeways lately,” reported the ABC News.
In a similar case, a woman in Florida was busted for DUI while riding her horse on a busy road. Donna Byrne, 53, was arrested for drunk ‘driving’ back in November 2017 by Polk County police after multiple drivers reported a woman was riding her horse erratically on a highway.
When authorities found her, they conducted a field sobriety test where she registered blood alcohol level of .161 — significantly higher than Florida’s legal limit of .08, reported NBC News. Byrne was charged with DUI and animal neglect for putting her horse named Bo Duke in danger.
In January this year, a Florida judge said Byrne was unfit to care for the horse when Byrne made an application to have the horse released to her. Her DUI case is still pending.
From NTD.tv
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