Utah Man Arrested For DUI After Driving On Wrong Side Of Road

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — An 18-year-old man was booked into jail on charges of driving under the influence after driving on the wrong side of a divided road.

Deputy Bryce Topham with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office saw the driver, Payton Christensen, heading toward him on the wrong side of the median on Pony Express Parkway Tuesday morning, just after midnight.

“(It took) about a second to realize…no, that car is in my lane and it’s coming right at me,” Topham said. “When I pulled off to the side, it was less than 50 yards away. It was a lot closer than I wanted it to be. It was way too close for comfort.”

The road is one lane in each direction in the area and Topham said he pulled onto the median to avoid a collision.

Police said Christensen passed Topham’s vehicle and stopped; Topham then approached the vehicle and said Christensen had difficulty walking and slurred his speech.

“As I started to talk to the driver of the vehicle, he had an open container of liquor on his lap,” Topham said. “He had told me he just got done smoking quite a bit of marijuana with some friends, but he was planning on going to another friend’s house in city center in Eagle Mountain…and actually smoke marijuana with a few more friends.”

Christensen was booked into jail following field sobriety tests and later submitted to tests at the jail, which showed his blood alcohol level to be .084, according to UCSO officials.

Christensen then told the deputy he had “just finished smoking two bowls” of marijuana, according to UCSO officials.

Tests also showed Christensen had THC and methamphetamine in his system.

The 18-year-old was also booked on charges of possession of alcohol and tobacco by a minor, open container and driving on the wrong side of the road.