Citizens corral drunk driver for police www.privateofficer.com
Citizens corral drunk driver for police http://www.privateofficer.com
MOBILE, Ala. April 6 2008 A 28-year-old Florida man arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs and leaving the scene of an accident was captured by two motorists who saw him zigzag through Interstate 10 traffic and bounce off a guardrail.
Alabama State Troopers charged Jack Thornton III of Pensacola, Fla., in the March 27 incident after Tim Dietlein of Irvington and another man tackled Thornton at the end of a chase on I-10 and the Causeway under the I-10 bridge at Mobile.
Before the chase, Thornton was involved in an accident on I-10 at 6:40 p.m. near the Malbis exit in Baldwin County that injured two people, said trooper spokesman Cpl. Joe Piggott.
“In hindsight, I never should have gotten out. He could have had a gun,” Dietlein, a 34-year-old car salesman, told the Press-Register for a story Friday. “All I could think of is, ‘This guy can’t leave here. He’s going to kill someone.’”
Another motorist — Lee Erdmann of Mobile, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter — saw the same events unfolding and also decided to give chase.
“He was going to keep going until his car wouldn’t go,” Erdmann said.
During the chase, Dietlein remained on the phone with a 911 operator.
Thornton’s E300 Lexus finally stopped on the Causeway when the hood popped up after striking a sport utility vehicle. Dietlein and Erdmann tackled Thornton as he attempted to close the hood and drive away.
“He wasn’t a big guy, but he was going crazy,” Erdmann said.
Thornton was taken to the Baldwin County Corrections Center and released March 28 after posting a $12,500 bond.
Alabama State Troopers charged Jack Thornton III of Pensacola, Fla., in the March 27 incident after Tim Dietlein of Irvington and another man tackled Thornton at the end of a chase on I-10 and the Causeway under the I-10 bridge at Mobile.
Before the chase, Thornton was involved in an accident on I-10 at 6:40 p.m. near the Malbis exit in Baldwin County that injured two people, said trooper spokesman Cpl. Joe Piggott.
“In hindsight, I never should have gotten out. He could have had a gun,” Dietlein, a 34-year-old car salesman, told the Press-Register for a story Friday. “All I could think of is, ‘This guy can’t leave here. He’s going to kill someone.’”
Another motorist — Lee Erdmann of Mobile, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter — saw the same events unfolding and also decided to give chase.
“He was going to keep going until his car wouldn’t go,” Erdmann said.
During the chase, Dietlein remained on the phone with a 911 operator.
Thornton’s E300 Lexus finally stopped on the Causeway when the hood popped up after striking a sport utility vehicle. Dietlein and Erdmann tackled Thornton as he attempted to close the hood and drive away.
“He wasn’t a big guy, but he was going crazy,” Erdmann said.
Thornton was taken to the Baldwin County Corrections Center and released March 28 after posting a $12,500 bond.
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Categories: police
drunk driver, interstate 10. dui, jack thornton, mobile alabama, pensacola florida
Four and a half months later, he was involved in a hit and run that we witnessed on vacation at the beach:
http://www.wkrg.com/local/article/woman_injured_in_hit_and_run/16526/
I guess it takes more than a DUI to get someone off the roads…