Mugshot of race car driver Al Unser Jr., taken moments after he was busted for DUI and leaving the scene of a crash on a Nevada freeway.
Posted on 01/26/2007 6:35:31 PM PST by Pharmboy
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and hit-and-run, Nevada police said on Friday.
Unser was taken into custody near Henderson, Nevada, on Thursday after he failed field sobriety tests given to him by officers investigating a hit-and-run, Nevada State Trooper Kevin Honea said.
Unser, 44, was booked on charges of hit-and-run, failing to report an accident, making an unsafe lane change and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Honea said troopers responded to an accident outside Las Vegas shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday in which a car crashed into a freeway median after being sideswiped by a Ford Excursion
that had fled the scene and was being pursued by other drivers.
When the Excursion got off the freeway near Henderson, police approached the sports utility vehicle to find Unser at the wheel.
"Mr. Unser failed all of the sobriety tests given to him and was placed under arrest," Honea said, adding that the car racer had since been released from custody.
Unser, the son of car racing legend Al Unser, won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Just damn.
"shortly after 11 a.m."
Suggests a bigger problem than a DUI
Driving Unser the Influence.
It's not the first time for him either. The last time it was domestic abuse and drugs. The IRL needs to adopt the NASCAR stance on this sort of thing.
Al Unser Jr. must be feeling the same way right about now.
How fast was he going? ROFL
So much for rehab.
That's the truth. If you are drinking that early there are issues. I never start before noon. :p
You would think he could out drive and out distance the police, even drunk.
Except he kept going in circles.
Gassed at 11 am?
Only in Vegas, baby. Looks like he didn't learn his lesson the first time.
Then again, he's probably thinking he can still get a free pass as if here were back home in New Mexico--there they don't start taking it seriously until about your fifth or sixth conviction.
Yeah, but Ford SUV's are chipped out at 104 mph. Don't ask me how I know.
I thought everything that happens in Vegas staid in Vegas?
wasn't he picked up for this about 6 months ago or so???
Not in than Ford Excursion he was driving. Now if he were behind the wheel of a new Shelby Cobra GT 500 and out on Intertstate 40 we'd have the makings of a possible police chase video to end all.
If Al Unser Jr. couldn't outrun the cops, no one can!
Please indulge an ol’ fart here … what is “chipped out”. Thank you in advance for your response … knowledge is everything.
I thought everything that happens in Vegas staid in Vegas?
Unser was taken into custody near Henderson,
Q
Yea, everyone knows it is stoned in the morning, drunk in the afternoon.
The Unser boys are plain hellions, livin' on the edge. Wild men. Al Jr. isn't the only one in trouble with the law....
You, my dear, obviously haven't been to Vegas lately...lol. If you've been to the Hard Rock Casino, go to the center bar either way late at night or early in the morning and just LISTEN.
The acoustics in the bar are amazing--you can barely hear the person five seats away but you can hear a conversation 50 feet away almost as if they were sitting next to you. Some of the things that people think they're saying only amongst themselves...stunning.
Pretty much the same thing--go down Eastern a couple of miles from downtown or Flamingo east from the strip, you're in Henderson. Meh.
Honea said Unser failed several field sobriety tests before being taken into custody. Unser was charged with driving under the influence, misdemeanor hit and run, failure to render aid in an accident and failure to report an accident.
Unser also has had bouts with alcohol abuse and depression. He underwent treatment for alcohol abuse in 2002 after his girlfriend said he hit her in the face while drunk in Indianapolis. Prosecutors did not file charges against him.
"Driving Unser the Influence."
That is bad, but I may use it.
Mugshot of race car driver Al Unser Jr., taken moments after he was busted for DUI and leaving the scene of a crash on a Nevada freeway.
I have found opiates to be the perfect remedy for a hangover lol
Yep--he was overserved.
As a ‘puter person, I figured that “chipped’ had something to do with computer chips and the car control thereof. Just needed some verification … thanks for the info.
Sorta’ like the old governors used on pre microprocessor controlled engines (back in the day).
As usual, my first thought is why don't these well to do drinking "celebrities" have enough sense and money to get a driver or chauffeur to drive them to and from their escapades?
I think they can all afford a hired driver or friend for a few hours.
Mel Gibson, Nick Nolte, Paris Hilton, they've all got millions of dollars.
Heck, call a cab. Cheaper than a DUI.
"If Al Unser Jr. couldn't outrun the cops, no one can!"
As a friend of mine used to say,....: "Nobody can outrun a radio." Or a bullet.
I was also wondering if he was turning left at the time of the arrest.
Whoops.
Glad no one was hurt,, I'm sure he'll be receiving lots of good advice the next few days. Whether he listens to it is another thing.
'I had a 1992 Camaro (6-speed manual, Z28) which had it as well, but it didn't cut in until about 130 mph (3500 rpm in 6th). "
Thank god it wasn't "chipped out" at 110 or 120, you could have been late to work or missed an appointment!
(Like I should talk. I used to drive my mom's Corvette between Dallas and Fort Worth on 182 and 121 at about 105-110 mph. I remember going going 110 mph on the local freeway through traffic. Not a wise thing to do. Thank God me and the other drivers are still alive to talk about it.)
I'm sure he's gotten puh-LEN-ty of good advice in the past, but he thinks he's as indestructible as a 17 y/o with three beers in him on a Saturday night. I hope this does it for him, though.
I didn't realize he was 44, wow time flies..
Excuse me for a typo … just flushes my whole argument down the drain. Alas, argument lost because of a typo, alas.
;-)
Looks like Mr. Unser may have a case of the Irish cancer.
Only 23 days till the Daytona 500!!!!!
Hey! I drive that stretch of road all the time, it is pretty hard to screw up there even when drunk, so he must have been plastered.
Okay; I won't ask you, if you return the favor and don't ask me how I found that out about mine.
You just can't reason with some people about driving drunk. You see people who aren't too sober at weddings who seem to think nothing of driving home.
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