Alleged drunken driver crashes into Taco Bell drive-thru in Weber County

File photo: Gephardt Daily/Nancy Van Valkenburg

MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE, Utah, Nov. 25, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have arrested an alleged drunken driver who crashed into a fast-food drive-thru window Thursday morning in Weber County.

Troy Lee Penman, 53, had been parked overnight in the parking lot at the Pilot Travel Center, 1670 W. 12th St., until about 6:45 a.m. when the vehicle started moving forward and then suddenly accelerated into the Taco Bell drive-thru window, police said.

Several employees were in the building at the time, but no one was injured, according to the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.

The vehicle “had driven over a parking lot island and ran directly into the [drive-thru] window where the employees would normally sit,” the arresting deputy said in a probable cause statement filed in Ogden’s 2nd District Court.

Witnesses told police they saw the vehicle moving slowly until it reached the curb of a parking lot island, the affidavit states. The driver then “slammed on the gas” and crashed into the drive-thru window, the statement continues.

Penman was still sitting in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition when deputies arrived to investigate, court documents state. The arresting deputy “detected a strong and distinct odor of a consumed alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.”

“He was speaking in a slow, raspy and slurred speech. His balance was very poor, as he would sway from side to side. He admitted to drinking two shots of vodka approximately four hours prior to the accident,” according to the probable cause statement.

Penman later failed a field sobriety test, the statement says. The vehicle he was driving also belonged to the victim of a protective order against Penman and was listed as property from which he was required to stay away, according to the sheriff’s office.

Penman was arrested for investigation of:

  • Violation of a protective order, a class A misdemeanor
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, a class B misdemeanor
  • Reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor

He is being held without bail in the Weber County jail.

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