Cheyenne Man Arrested for Driving 143 MPH While Drunk
The Wyoming Highway Patrol is reminding folks to drive sober after a Cheyenne man was reportedly caught driving nearly 70 mph over the speed limit while drunk.
According to a booking sheet, a trooper was sitting in the median of Interstate 80 just east of Cheyenne around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 24, when he observed a black sports car traveling east at a high rate of speed.
After the car passed him, the trooper activated his rear radar and clocked the car doing 143 mph in a 75-mph zone.
The trooper was able to catch up to and stop the car near milepost 1.4 on the I-80 Service Road and identified the driver as 53-year-old Benjamin D. Baltz by his Wyoming driver's license.
The trooper immediately observed an open container in the cup holder and smelled alcohol on Baltz's breath.
The trooper says Baltz's eyes were bloodshot and watery and Baltz admitted to drinking approximately six beers.
Baltz agreed to participate in standardized field sobriety tests and was determined to be too drunk to drive. A portable breath test also indicated a breath alcohol concentration of 0.146%.
Baltz was subsequently arrested and booked into the Laramie County Detention Center on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, open container, and speeding.
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