Tooele cops: Startled drunk crashed into store front

By Bob Mims

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Mar 04 2013 08:39 am • Last Updated Mar 04 2013 11:07 pm

Tooele police say an alleged drunken driver decided to take a nap, but the honking horn of an approaching car proved a rude awakening — and the catalyst for a crash.

Police Lt. Adrian Day said Monday that a 50-year-old man was hospitalized with minor injuries following the 4:40 p.m. accident, in which the suspect crashed through the front of the LA Smoke Shop at 80 W. Vine St.

Day said city prosecutors were screening charges, including driving under the influence, against the man.

"It appears he was asleep at the wheel, stopped in the street when another car came up behind him. The motorist honked, and [it] appears he suddenly [woke up] and crashed into the smoke shop," Day said.

There was no official damage estimate, but an employee, who asked not to be identified, said the shop had been heavily damaged and was closed on Monday pending repairs.

Bob Mims

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