Police find North Liberty man's blood-alcohol content at .435 percent during traffic stop

Everyone tries to end the year on a high note.

Police said a North Liberty man ended the year on a high, as well - a blood-alcohol content more than five times the legal limit.

North Liberty police officers were called about a reckless driver shortly after 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Police said the responding officer caught up with the driver at the intersection of Penn and Dubuque streets. The driver made a wide turn and drove into oncoming traffic on Penn Street, police said. After drifting into oncoming traffic a second time, police pulled over the driver, identified as 40-year-old Chad L. Harvey.

Police said Harvey showed signs of intoxication  and admitted to drinking a "few" alcoholic beverages. Harvey was unable to stand on his own or perform field sobriety tests. He submitted to a preliminary breath test, which indicated he had a blood-alcohol content of .434 percent, well over the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Iowa, .08 percent. A second breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be .435 percent.

Harvey was arrested and charged with drunken driving, a serious misdemeanor.