Officials say driver who ran out of gas, called for help was drunk

IOWA CITY -- A Sioux City man was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Iowa City on Sunday after he ran out of gas on Interstate 80 near the Dubuque Street exit and called for help, according to a criminal complaint.

Timothy Joseph Sylvester, 18, ran out of gas about 5:15 a.m. Sunday and called for roadside assistance, authorities reported. When Campus Towing arrived, according to the complaint, Sylvester was asleep.

When a Johnson County sheriff's deputy woke him, Sylvester smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes, and admitted to drinking “but not since driving,” according to the complaint. He failed roadside tests and his blood-alcohol content level was at .150, the complaint states.

A deputy also reported finding Bud Light cans in his back seat and an open bottle of vodka on the passenger-side floor.