SIDNEY — A routine traffic stop took a little longer than normal Friday morning.
Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) troopers attempted to stop a maroon SUV with Michigan license plates that was traveling south on Interstate 75 for following too close, marked lanes and speed around 11:40 a.m.
The troopers initiated the stop at mile marker 99, around the Anna/Minster exit, when the vehicle neared mile marker 91, Sidney Police officers deployed stop sticks. This blew out the vehicles right-side tires. Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies also helped at the incident.
The vehicle then exited the highway at the Fair Road exit, continued west on Fair Road, then pulled into the Hampton Inn parking lot. The car parked in a parking space on the north side of the building.
The 40 year-old male driver was taken into custody without incident, according to OSHP officials. The vehicle was being driven by the registered owner out of Wyandotte, Michigan.
Officials said several bottles of vodka were found in the vehicle.
The driver was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and fleeing and alluding, both first-degree misdemeanors.
The OSHP said he was charged with misdemeanors because it was a low-speed pursuit that just went a long distance.
