Two switch seats after crash; both charged with OWI

Police said two intoxicated people got behind the wheel of the same pickup Sunday morning, and it landed them both in jail.

Officers responded around 12:50 a.m. to the 200 block of 15th Street NW when an accident was reported. They learned a pickup had struck three parked vehicles.

Sgt. Michael Wallerstedt said officers determined Jeremy L. Farr, 27, of Cedar Rapids, had been driving the pickup at the time of the accident. The pickup got stuck, so Farr got out and passenger Samantha L. Kleinschmidt, 20, of Cedar Rapids, slid into the driver's seat, police said.

Wallerstedt said the pair, who live together, were unable to get the pickup unstuck. When officers arrived, Farr was in the passenger's seat, but witnesses told police he was the original driver.

"Because of the all the commotion, the neighbors were outside and advised officers that they had changed places," Wallerstedt said.

According to the police report, both Farr and Kleinschmidt had slurred speech and an odor of alcohol. Both failed field sobriety tests, and Kleinschmidt provided a breath sample that registered at 0.208, police said. Farr refused to give a breath sample.

Farr and Kleinschmidt were both charged with operating while intoxicated, and were taken to the Linn County Jail. Farr was also cited for failure to maintain control and no insurance.

Farr was previously convicted of operating while intoxicated in 2007, according to court documents.

No one was injured in the crash, police said.