A Pennsylvania man was taken into custody by Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies following a drunk-driving incident on Mileground Road in Morgantown early Wednesday morning.
According to a criminal complaint, Deputy James Burks was traveling through the roundabout onto Mileground Road when he saw a silver SUV stopped in a construction area where there is no roadway.
The deputy stopped to check on the driver, who allegedly stated he had taken a wrong turn.
While speaking with the driver, Burks said he detected slurred speech and the man appeared to be very nervous.
After instructing the driver to stay there, Burks exited his cruiser and began to approach.
The deputy reported being about 15 feet from the driver’s window when the suspect, later identified as Jonathan D. Lynam, 31, of Malvern, Pa., “put the vehicle in drive and began to flee through the construction area, subsequently jumping the embankment and large curb and landing in the roadway on Mileground Road.”
Lynam’s vehicle sustained a blown front driver’s-side tire as a result of crashing down onto the pavement. But that did not deter him from continuing to accelerate northbound on Mileground Road, the report says.
Burks said Lynam crossed into the oncoming lanes of traffic, then abruptly jerked the wheel back into the right lanes and pulled into the MPE Rentals parking lot.
The deputy was then able to pull up to Lynam’s driver’s side door with his cruiser. Lynam stopped and was ordered out of the vehicle and onto the ground where he was taken into custody.
Lynam was transported to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department where Burks administered three structured field sobriety tests, which Lynam allegedly failed. Burks also recorded Lynam had a blood alcohol content of 0.155%.
Lynam was taken to North Central Regional Jail following an arraignment hearing in Monongalia County Magistrate Court Wednesday. Bond was set at $50,000.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
