Highway Patrol Troopers in Tempe, Arizona had their hands full on July 1 when multiple 911 calls came in about a driver swerving through traffic on US-60. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the driver was speeding and weaving badly enough that other motorists had to swerve out of the way just to avoid getting hit.
Troopers caught up with the vehicle near McClintock Drive and pulled it over. Right away, it was clear something was seriously wrong. The driver was showing obvious signs of impairment, and it did not take long to figure out why. The driver admitted to knocking back around seven “shooter” bottles of liquor before getting behind the wheel.
A preliminary breath test backed that up in a big way, coming back at a 0.280 BAC. For anyone doing the math at home, that is roughly three and a half times Arizona’s legal limit of 0.08. That is not a “had one too many at the tailgate” situation. That is a number that usually shows up in training videos as an example of what not to do.
But the real surprise came during the vehicle inventory, when Troopers discovered the driver was not just carrying evidence of a bad decision, they were carrying a full-blown inventory. Roughly 25 shooter bottles of peppermint schnapps were found in the car, six of them already empty. It is the kind of detail that makes you wonder if this was a party favor stash, a very ambitious road trip, or just an extremely dedicated commitment to minty freshness.
A BAC That Speaks for Itself
A 0.280 BAC is not a number law enforcement sees every day, at least not attached to someone still driving. At that level, most people are dealing with serious coordination and judgment issues, which lines up with the reports of near misses on US-60.
It is honestly a small miracle that Troopers got this driver stopped before anyone was hurt.
Twenty-Five Bottles Is a Lot of Schnapps
Say what you want about the situation, but 25 shooter bottles is an eyebrow-raising amount of peppermint schnapps to have in one vehicle. Whether it was meant for a party, a very committed personal stash, or something else entirely, it is not the kind of cargo Troopers expect to find during a routine DUI stop.
Six empties suggest at least part of that supply did not survive the trip.
Charges Filed, Case Now in the System
The driver was arrested and booked on DUI-related charges following the stop. As is standard procedure, the vehicle inventory and breath test results will factor into how the case moves forward.
For now, the story serves as a reminder of just how unpredictable a night on the road can turn out to be, sometimes complete with an entire cooler’s worth of evidence riding shotgun.