Wallace Bowers (GBPD)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Green Bay man is in custody after a crash near East Mason Street and Badger Street shut down the area early Friday morning. The driver of the vehicle, identified at 74-year -old Wallace Bowers, was taken into custody for Operating while Intoxicated 16th offense.
Officers responded to a call for a call of “Electrical Wires Down” around 12:36 a.m., and were advised that a possible power line transformer had malfunctioned. Witnesses quickly reported that the incident involved a crash and that the driver was injured. The crash did knock out power to a large area around that location.
Officers and rescue arrived on scene to provide aid to the driver and worked to ensure the safety of everyone in the area, due to the power lines being on the ground sparking, which caused a severe safety hazard. Officers worked quickly to close down the surrounding streets and re-route traffic to ensure community safety and to process the crash scene.
Along with the OWI, officers will be recommending charges of resisting arrest to the Brown County District Attorney. Bowers was also given a citation for operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance.
“I am frankly shocked that someone with fifteen prior OWI arrests is still driving,” said Police Chief Andrew Smith. “Drunk driving is an avoidable tragedy, one that kills too many innocent lives every year. We are committed to eliminate drunk driving in Green Bay through education and vigorous enforcement, and we need everyone to work together to solve this problem. Please, be the designated driver, use a taxi or ride share, or call for a safe ride through the Brown County Tavern League. We need to work together to make sure drunk driving stops in Green Bay.”
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