Helped apprehend a drunk driver last night

[Kestrel]

Well, interesting evening last night, I was driving home ~9:30 PM and I saw what appeared to be a near-accident on southbound I-5 just south of Salem, OR (in fact, at that moment I actually thought an accident was occurring because the driver almost completely lost control of his car and nearly hit a short semi trailer). I hung (WAY) back for a while keeping an eye on the vehicle, who was actually doing OK lane-wise but was having difficulty maintaining a constant speed (varying from 50 to 70 mph). After he drifted over the white line once, I was reasonably sure & called 911 and was able to keep the troopers updated regarding mile markers we were passing.

After giving a description of the vehicle (I mean, how many older-style two-door domestic autos drive around with a refrigerator literally tied to the top of the roof?), he finally pulled into the rest area ~10 miles north of Albany, Oregon. I parked a discreet distance away from his car, at which point a number of officers arrived & I was able to provide a detailed report. And yes, one officer assured me that he was very intoxicated. :shakehead

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Good job!

I drive that chunk of I5 occasionally, glad to know it's a tad bit safer now.

:buddies:

 

[DimeRazorback]

Excellent work!!

:thumbsup:

 

[NotRegulated]

What! No mention of a light at all! I know this is the CAFE but it's still CPF. Lets rewrite this to include some flashlight material. Blue words added by me!


Well, interesting evening last night, I was driving home, with my Surefire L1 in hand and my Surefire C3 riding shotgun. ~9:30 PM I saw what appeared to be a near-accident on southbound I-5 just south of Salem, OR. (in fact, at that moment I actually thought an accident was occurring because in the beam of my flashlight I saw the driver almost completely lost control of his car and nearly hit a short semi trailer). I hung (WAY) back for a while, but not farther than the max throw of my C3, keeping an eye on the vehicle, who was actually doing OK lane-wise but was having difficulty maintaining a constant speed (varying from 50 to 70 mph). After he drifted over the white line once, I was reasonably sure & called 911 and was able to keep the troopers updated regarding mile markers we were passing. I was able to read the mile markers at 50 MPH by shining my C3 on them as I drove past. I was quite grateful I had opted for the HA finish on my C3 since the road grit and gravel kicked up by the erratic driver was bouncing off my drivers side mirror housing and my C3's bezel that was sticking out of the window.

After giving a description of the vehicle (I mean, how many older-style two-door domestic autos drive around with a refrigerator literally tied to the top of the roof?). How do I know the object on the top of his car was tied let alone a refrigerator? My C3, of course! He finally pulled into the rest area ~10 miles north of Albany, Oregon. I parked a discreet distance away from his car, at which point a number of officers arrived & I was able to provide a detailed report. I was out of my car but stayed on the perimeter of the scene keeping my 3C P4 shining in the direction of the suspect vehicle. To the officers it appeared I was staying out of the way and helping out light the scene but I was actually keeping my hotspot in the suspects eyes so he could not see who I was. I hung around a bit afterward and talked lights with some of the officers. Of course I referred them all to CPF! And yes, one officer assured me that he was very intoxicated.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

That is so the way it should have been written in the first place. LOL.

Bill

 

[Kestrel]

LOL NR, that's pretty good. That reads like an over-the-top SureFire advertisement. :huh:

I did have 7 lights with me (plus a headlamp), but only three of them were SF's.

Two of the policemen were using Mags, but I refrained from doing any CPF recruiting that evening.

Thanks guys,
K

 

[NotRegulated]

LOL NR, that's pretty good. That reads like an over-the-top SureFire advertisement. :huh:

I did have 7 lights with me (plus a headlamp), but only three of them were SF's.

Two of the policemen were using Mags, but I refrained from doing any CPF recruiting that evening.

Thanks guys,
K

I got the idea for the type of lights off your sig line. Kinda like personalizing the story for you!

 

[Bullzeyebill]

LOL NR, that's pretty good. That reads like an over-the-top SureFire advertisement. :huh:

I did have 7 lights with me (plus a headlamp), but only three of them were SF's.

Two of the policemen were using Mags, but I refrained from doing any CPF recruiting that evening.

Thanks guys,
K

Your perfect opportunity to show those guys using mags, what a real flashlight is. Of course they might have arrested you for having too many lumens in your car. :nana:

 

[Patriot]

:laughing: That's funny NotRegulated. It reads exactly like one of those goofy Surefire stories of which 95% of them sound like pure hogwash to me.


Kestrel, very nice work dude. You're the man. :twothumbs

Also props to the Albany PD or DPS whichever is was. Thanks for helping to make a difference.



I had an experience in Scottsdale a few years ago in which a group of four, including myself followed a drunk for 20 minutes and three 911 calls to give location updates. My friend was driving and I was talking to the 911 operator. After the third call the operator basically just said, "we're doing our best to get someone to that location but there aren't any units in the area." A typical governmental response to say the least. The drunk driver wasn't in any one particular area, he traveled about 15-20 miles of metropolitan area from the edge of Phoenix then deep into Scottsdale, heading the same northerly direction the entire time. These are big city police departments who even fund SWAT teams, so we're not talking about some back woods sheriff's department here. Futhermore, the Scottsdale PD has a substation within about 3 miles of our last contact with the drunk driver!

We eventually had to turn off as the drunk continued north but it's quite likely this guy either crashed or got away. He was wheel rubbing curbs and drifting over the center line. I don't get to shaken or upset easily but when he crossed the center line causing opposing traffic to slow or pull over, my heart about came out of my chest. The thought of this guy killing someone sickened me. The four of us fully expected to be called as witnesses in a lawsuit against the idiot drunk and city of Scottsdale for failing to stop this guy or even show up for that matter. We assumed this would come to the type of eventuality that we'd see broadcast in the news the following day. Thankfully that wasn't the case, but interestingly enough, my friend who was driving that evening got a speeding ticket for 6mph over the very next day in the same city. If that's not the icing on the cake, he was riding his motorcycle, a small sport bike and was endangering no one. It seems that they're more concerned with revenue around these parts than the saving of lives. What we really need are fewer officers and more governing of one's self through sound moral foundations.

Ultimately the police aren't legally obligated to protect citizens, nor should they be. Our personal safety is a responsibility that must be burdened both individually and collectively within our family units. Maybe in this circumstance that includes limiting exposure during peak drunk driving hours, driving safe automobiles, keeping your head on a swivel and alertness level at DEFCON 1. Of course if we're ever impaired ourselves we're just playing Russian roulette with our own lives and the lives of others.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Kestrel, you did good. Most people would have have not stayed with the apparently drunk driver till the very end.

Patriot, various law enforcement agencies would have looked pretty bad if that driver had killed someone, what with your documented 911 calls.

Bill

 

[Zeruel]

What! No mention of a light at all! I know this is the CAFE but it's still CPF. Lets rewrite this to include some flashlight material. Blue words added by me!


Well, interesting evening last night, I was driving home, with my Surefire L1 in hand and my Surefire C3 riding shotgun. ~9:30 PM I saw what appeared to be a near-accident on southbound I-5 just south of Salem, OR. (in fact, at that moment I actually thought an accident was occurring because in the beam of my flashlight I saw the driver almost completely lost control of his car and nearly hit a short semi trailer). I hung (WAY) back for a while, but not farther than the max throw of my C3, keeping an eye on the vehicle, who was actually doing OK lane-wise but was having difficulty maintaining a constant speed (varying from 50 to 70 mph). After he drifted over the white line once, I was reasonably sure & called 911 and was able to keep the troopers updated regarding mile markers we were passing. I was able to read the mile markers at 50 MPH by shining my C3 on them as I drove past. I was quite grateful I had opted for the HA finish on my C3 since the road grit and gravel kicked up by the erratic driver was bouncing off my drivers side mirror housing and my C3's bezel that was sticking out of the window.

After giving a description of the vehicle (I mean, how many older-style two-door domestic autos drive around with a refrigerator literally tied to the top of the roof?). How do I know the object on the top of his car was tied let alone a refrigerator? My C3, of course! He finally pulled into the rest area ~10 miles north of Albany, Oregon. I parked a discreet distance away from his car, at which point a number of officers arrived & I was able to provide a detailed report. I was out of my car but stayed on the perimeter of the scene keeping my 3C P4 shining in the direction of the suspect vehicle. To the officers it appeared I was staying out of the way and helping out light the scene but I was actually keeping my hotspot in the suspects eyes so he could not see who I was. I hung around a bit afterward and talked lights with some of the officers. Of course I referred them all to CPF! And yes, one officer assured me that he was very intoxicated.

Good one! Made my CPF day.

 

[ElectronGuru]

:thumbsup:

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Way to go, Kestrel! You may have stopped a tragedy from happening. :thumbsup:

 

[kwkarth]

Good job Kestrel! Glad to share the Willamette Valley with you! Keep up the good work! Good work to the Albany PD / OSP and 911 dispatch as well!
Thank you for helping keep our streets and highways safe!
Oh, and NR, thanks for "editing" Kestrel's account for a TV pilot, Famous Flashaholics!

 

[Monocrom]

Nice job indeed. Every time a drunk driver is stopped from continuing on, that's another potential (possibly fatal) accident that has realistically been prevented.

 

[Burgess]

to Kestrel --

Good Work ! :thumbsup:




to NotRegulated --

Good Work, also ! :lolsign:
_

 

[KD5XB]

Way to go KESTREL! Keep it up and you can get quite a tally. Over the past 20 years or so I've called in and tailed about TWELVE DUI's! The last one was really wild -- I was helping to guard the front gate at Cannon AFB and this drunk took the wrong road and tried to go through the gate. You could smell the alcohol from at least 50 feet away.