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A suspected drunk driver rammed into a parked Eagle Police patrol car on State Street late Tuesday night, but the officer escaped injury because he was out of the car doing a traffic stop at the time.
Wolfgang J. Drude is charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. He is being held in the Ada County Jail.
The incident occurred around 11:25 p.m. Tuesday when an Eagle patrol officer pulled over a car on eastbound State Street near Horseshoe Bend Road.
The officer angled his car to the right of the car he pulled over, got out, and was talking to the driver through the driver’s side window when a Mercedes van, also travelling eastbound on State Street, collided with the patrol car, according to reports.
The impact was so forceful the officer was pushed into the car he pulled over by a gust of air, Ada County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said. The patrol car was badly damaged by the impact.
The Mercedes van then kept driving eastbound after the collision. The officer called for help and another Eagle Police officer pulled the van over on Hill Road a few minutes later.
Dearden said the driver, later identified as Drude, appeared to be intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test before being arrested and booked into the Ada County Jail.
A blood alcohol breath test was done at the scene but the results were not available Wednesday morning.
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