OWI Task Force arrests 17-year-old

ASHWAUBENON - This dash cam video shows it all: A car, driven by a 17-year-old girl from Keshena, heading the wrong way on Highway 41. It's going 70 miles an hour, directly at an Ashwaubenon Public Safety squad car.

"This person who was driving down the highway drunk, with no regard for what was really going on," said Lt. Jody Crocker.

The officer in the squad car swerved just in time to miss hitting the vehicle. Crocker says the officer then turned his car around, and pulled the driver over.

"The officer put himself in danger of death and great bodily harm just to make this stop," said Crocker.

Officers say they won't release the name of the driver until she is formally charged. She was cited for OWI, driving without a license, insurance or registration, driving the wrong way on a highway and driving with an open intoxicant. Officers say the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.174. She is expected to be charged as an adult.

"This is the reason that we do OWI enforcement. This is an excellent example of someone who needs to not be on the roadways," said Crocker.

The Ashwaubenon car was on patrol with the OWI task force. Headed by the State Patrol, the task force issued six OWI arrests and three open intoxicant citations. Additionally, officers issued 30 citations on Sunday for speeding more than 80 miles per hour.

"That’s definitely rare. I mean, we see high speeds out there everyday, but in that kind of concentration, that's definitely something that surprised us. So it just shows us why we're out there and hopefully people respect why we're out there in terms of stopping people from going that high over the speed limit," said Michael Panosh with the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Officers say fortunately, a crash on Highway 41 was avoided. But, it serves as another reminder to make sure your friends and family stay off the road when they've had too many.

The officer who made that OWI arrest is the same one whose squad car was hit during an OWI enforcement stop in October. He was injured in the head and arm, but has since recovered.