Coralville man's car gets stuck on railroad tracks; he tells police GPS to blame

A Coralville man who got his car stuck on railroad tracks while allegedly driving drunk blamed it on his GPS.

According to an Iowa City Police Department criminal complaint, officers were called to the 700 block of South Gilbert Street for a report of a car stuck on the railroad tracks. Police found a car at 300 Lafayette St. stuck in the snow on the tracks.

Police said the driver of the car, 32-year-old William J. Mikkelson, admitted to driving onto the tracks, but told officers he was following his GPS. Mikkelson had an odor of alcohol on his breath and appeared to be intoxicated, police said. He failed field sobriety tests and refused a preliminary breath test, police said. A post-arrest breath test indicated his blood-alcohol content was .150 percent or nearly twice the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle in Iowa.

Mikkelson was arrested and faces one count of drunk driving.