Sparta police: Drunk drivers 'iced' intersection

SPARTA – Two men were charged with driving while intoxicated after one of them crashed his BMW and then returned with the other to pour water on the road to make it look like ice caused the accident, police said.

At 2:46 a.m. on Saturday, Officer C.J. Grauerholz was patrolling Woodport Road when he passed a man dressed in dark clothing walking in the intersection of Sawmill Road, towards a 2005 silver BMW parked and running in the middle of Sawmill Road.

Grauerholz stopped in front of the BMW and approached the driver's side of the vehicle. The man in dark clothing, Brian J. Byers, 20, had gotten into the front passenger seat of the car that was being operated by Alexander Zambenedetti, also 20 and from Sparta, police said.

The temperature on scene was 1 degree with the wind chill making it feel like 15 degrees, police said.

Despite the dangerous temperature, Zambenedetti was not wearing a shirt. He told police that he had fallen down and the shirt had gotten wet. On the back seat of the vehicle were two plastic five gallon buckets with each one containing some water.

The ensuing investigation determined that earlier in the evening, Byers was involved in a motor vehicle accident while operating a 2001 black BMW 530, which was registered to a family member, police said.

Byers was alone and traveling north on Sawmill Road when he failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of Woodport Road. He crossed through the intersection and struck a guide rail on the other side of the roadway. He then fled, driving his damaged vehicle back to his home which is less than a mile away, police said.

Byers later returned to the scene of the accident with Zambenedetti driving his car.

The two men brought with them two five gallon buckets filled with water and Byers poured the water onto the roadways in the intersection. Investigators determined that the men intended to report that the accident was caused by the black ice and not because Byers was under the influence of alcohol.

Police are not sure how many trips the men made to dump water in the roadway but they do know that the intersection had become too dangerous to drive on because it was now covered with black ice.

The Department of Public Works was called to the scene and had to dump one half ton of salt to make the area safe.

Byers was arrested at the scene and transported to police headquarters for processing and breath testing. He was later charged with driving while intoxicated careless, driving, failure to stop at a stop sign, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident and disorderly conduct for creating a dangerous condition by purposely icing the intersection.

Zambenedetti was arrested after he failed a series of field sobriety tests. He denied operating his motor vehicle but had no explanation how his car got to Sawmill Road despite the fact that he was seated in the driver's seat with the engine running.

He also denied pouring any water on the roadway. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving and failure to wear a seatbelt. His vehicle was later impounded.

Both men were released later in the morning to sober adults. The investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending. The pair are scheduled to appear in Sparta Municipal Court on Thursday.