A 56-year-old Lakewood Township man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Saturday after wandering away from the scene of a single-vehicle crash on Lester River Road, prompting a search of the nearby woods.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, shortly after 1 p.m. a 911 caller reported that a pickup truck had crashed into a power pole in the 5000 block of Lester River Road, in Lakewood Township just north of the Duluth city limits.
The caller said the male driver of the truck appeared dazed, and wandered into the woods. Officials from the sheriff's office, Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance were unable to find the driver, or any passengers; the St. Louis County Rescue Squad and a K9 unit then responded to the scene. A portion of the road was blocked off for a time because of live wires dangling at the crash scene.
Shortly after searchers started a K9 track, the driver of the truck was found by deputies walking out to a nearby road. He was not injured, the sheriff's office said, but he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit to a breath alcohol test.
The man faces charges of second-degree driving under the influence; second-degree test refusal; and driving with a canceled license.
