By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
Salisbury Police responded to two reports of impaired driving on New Yearís Day, one involving a near collision and the other involving a vehicle that crashed into a ditch.
Salisbury Police Officer Michael Morgan was traveling on Statesville Boulevard at 11:48 a.m. Saturday when a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser pulled in front of him from the Carriage Room parking lot. The officer had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting the car, police said.
The PT Cruiser then crossed the median and turned onto Lash Drive. The driver, Candi Renee Jacobs, 24, of 722 Laurel Point Circle, Salisbury, was given a sobriety test. Her blood-alcohol content was .26 or more than three times the legal limit. She was given two more tests which showed her alcohol content was .24 and .23, three times the legal limit.
She was charged with driving while impaired, given a $500 secured bond and has since been released from the Rowan County jail.
Salisbury Police Officer Brian Cooper stopped a Salisbury man at 2 a.m. Saturday and charged him with driving while impaired. The officer arrived at Airport Road near Cedar Springs Road, where a white Ford Taurus was nose first in a ditch. As the officer was pulling up, the driver was standing beside the vehicle, but when the officer approached, the driver got back into the car.
The driver, who was later identified as Jose Electerio Chirino Osorto, 29, of 923 N. Church St., Salisbury, was trying to back the car out of the ditch. The officer repeatedly told Osorto to turn the engine off. He eventually complied.
When he stepped out of the vehicle, the officer smelled alcohol on him. He was unstable on his feet and the officer ascertained he was drunk. The officer was unable to obtain a sufficient blood sample and the driver later refused further testing.
Osorto was placed in the Rowan Detention Center under a $1,000 bond where he remains.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.