MAGNA, Utah, July 10, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol troopers were called Sunday evening on a report of a wrong-way driver on State Route 201 near Redwood Road.
“While I was responding, my sergeant and I observed a silver sedan on the eastbound lanes going westbound on the left shoulder near 7200 West,” says an arrest document filed by an officer of the Utah Highway Patrol.
“My sergeant and I got the vehicle stopped on the left shoulder. The sole occupant in the vehicle was in the driver seat. The driver only spoke Spanish, we had another trooper respond to translate.
“While waiting for the assisting officer, I observed an open container of alcohol in the cup holders. I could see the driver’s eyes were bloodshot and glossy and he was handing all of us random items from the vehicle.”
The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Anderson Eduardo Casanova Chaparro.
“When the translator arrived, I performed Standardized Field Sobriety Tests on the driver,” court documents say. “During Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, I observed six of six clues, and vertical nystagmus as well. During the rest of the SFSTs (Standardized Field Sobriety Tests), I observed many clues rendering him incapable of operating a motor vehicle.
“The PBT (preliminary breath test) on quick capture was a .190,” nearly four times Utah’s legal limit of intoxication, which is .05.
Chaparro was charged on suspicion of:
- Driving under the influence, wrong way on/enter highway, a class A misdemeanor
- Open container/drinking alcohol in a vehicle, a class C misdemeanor
- Vehicle on divided highway not operating in right hand on roadway, an infraction
Chaparro was released on conditions including he return for scheduled court dates and commit no additional crimes.
