A Waukee man was arrested early Sunday after allegedly crashing his vehicle near his residence and then running home before the police arrived.
Benjamin Franklin Ruley, 44, of 865 S.E. Prairie Park Lane, Waukee, was charged with first-offense OWI and failure to maintain control.
The incident began about 12:45 a.m. Sunday in the 800 block of S.E. Prairie Park Lane, where officers of the Waukee Police Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle collision from which a male left on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement.
The officers arrived and made contact with a neighbor, who “heard the collision” and said someone “ran down to road” from the scene of the accident, according to court records.
The officers made contact with Ruley at his residence nearby, and he “walked back to the scene” with the officers, who “noticed” that Ruley had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and “was slightly stumbling,” according to court records.
The officers “also noticed that his breath smelled like an alcoholic beverage.”
Inside the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee was found “an open Busch Light beer can on the floor board of the passenger side” and “an opened case of matching Busch Light beer cans behind the passenger side driver’s seat,” according to court records.
In reply to officers’ questions, Ruley said he drank “six to eight” beers Saturday evening. A bartender at Norm’s Pub later confirmed that Ruley consumed “alcohol and pizza” at the bar, according to court records.
Ruley was held in the Dallas County Jail on a $1,287.88 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a hearing in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
