Police arrested a man for drunken driving after ramming through the gate outside of The Salvation Army Family Store on Willoughby Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
The man had passed out in his car, said Gina Halverson, a Salvation Army officer at the Juneau branch. The last employee out of the store visually inspected the vehicle but didn’t see the driver, Halverson said. When he came to, Halverson said he attempted to ram his way through the gate instead of calling for assistance.
Halverson, who was called to the scene, said the Juneau Police Department officers told her the suspect’s alcohol level was “pretty high.”
The fence was destroyed, and the vehicle the man was driving was visibly damaged. As soon as the suspect had run over the gate, he was blocked in by a pair of JPD vehicles and arrested.
The Salvation Army is fenced in to keep people from getting into the garbage, Halverson said. The manager of the store noticed last year that theft from the garbage was an issue, and had a lock put in place on the garbage bin.
“We prefer that nobody leave their cars on the property overnight,” Halverson said in a phone interview. “We’re very thankful no one got hurt.”
The man’s name was not released by the end of the business day Thursday, though JPD Officer Eric Hoffman confirmed at the scene that the person had been arrested and taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
The fence in front of The Salvation Army Family Store on Willoughby Avenue was damaged by a drunken driver Wednesday night, police said. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)
The vehicle involved in a crash in front of The Salvation Army Family Store is seen Wednesday night. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)
