Deputy Accused Of Sleeping In Car In Middle Of Interstate
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (CBS4) - A Douglas County Sheriff's deputy is on unpaid leave and accused of driving drunk.
Eric Schneider, 33, is accused of stopping his vehicle in the middle lane of Interstate 25 at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday near Founders Parkway.
Witnesses said Schneider's car allegedly went from 65 miles per hour to a dead stop. Several cars banged into each other behind him and four people were treated for minor injuries.
"Vehicles obviously tried to swerve to avoid a collision and ended up colliding with other vehicles; a total of two crashes involving seven vehicles," Lt. Jason Lyons with Castle Rock police said.
Peter Boryla's car got hit. He was on his way home from church with family.
"My mom said that she saw a tire fly off. I was just in shock," Boryla said.
When police approached Schneider he had his eyes closed and was leaned back in his seat, according to court documents. Schneider apparently had been sleeping and officers woke him up when they approached him.
"When the officer made contact with him he was laying back in his vehicle with his eyes closed, but did respond to the officer's questions," Lyons said.
Schneider was off duty at the time of the incident but his gun and uniforms were in the car. He allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .159.
The officer asked Schneider what he was doing and Schneider replied, "Nothing." Then he was asked why he was in the middle lane. Schneider replied, "Waiting."
"He had not realized that he had been involved in a traffic crash," Lyons said.
The police report states Schneider told police he was at a friend's house and had his last drink at 3 a.m. He claimed to have had five 12-ounce beers the whole night.
"I'm grateful for the fact that I'm still alive and that I can live to tell the story," Boryla said.
Schneider's father told CBS4 he believes his son had an anxiety attack.
Schneider is a 3-year veteran assigned to the detention facility.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Schneider was on paid leave, which CBS4 learned Tuesday afternoon is not the case.
