Illegal Combination Leads To DUI Arrest

Steven W. Spears, of Portland Oregon was driving a 2000 Freightliner semi truck registered to Central Freight Lines Inc. of Waco Texas, pulling three trailers containing general freight when he was stopped at the Ridgefield Port of Entry.

Commercial Vehicle Officer Kelly Tabor stopped the semi after noticing the trailer combination was an illegal set of triple trailers. Washington law limits a semi to pull up to two trailers, and limits the length of the trailers to 68 feet with a special permit. Mr. Spears vehicle combination was in excess of 80 feet, and weighed over 91,300 pounds.

During the contact Officer Tabor detected an odor of intoxicants coming from the driver. A voluntary portable breath test (PBT) was performed on Spears which revealed that alcohol was present. Officer Tabor requested the assistance of a Trooper to further evaluate Mr. Spears. Trooper Bill Jordan responded to the scale and submitted Spears to field sobriety tests in addition to a breath test. The test confirmed that his blood alcohol was over the legal limit of .04 BAC for an operator of a commercial vehicle.

Last month, six commercial drivers were arrested and or placed out of service at the Ridgefield Port of Entry after officers discovered they were under the influence of alcohol.

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