According to a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office incident report, On July 5th, 2023, at 2:11 AM, Deputy Center was sitting stationary off of the roadway near the intersection of Wagner Dr and Command Dr when a blue Ford Expedition traveling east failed to maintain off of the south side of the roadway, almost striking Deptuy Center’s patrol vehicle. The Ford made a wide turn and was driving all over the roadway at 25 mph on the South Dalton Bypass. Deputy Center initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Jose Ignacio Roshas-Rangel, 26, of Dalton. According to the report, “Deputy Center immediately smelled the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from the vehicle. The driver’s eye appeared to be very glossy, especially when the outer ring of Deputy Center’s flashlight would illuminate them. Deputy Center noticed multiple Budweiser cans in the passenger side front floorboard. There was a liquid spilled on the passenger side front door and an empty styrofoam cup in the front floorboard as well. The driver did not know much English.” The deputy used Google Translate to communicate with Jose. He was able to answer that he was driving his friend’s vehicle, he had no valid license, and that he only had drunk six beers a few minutes prior to driving. Dalton City Police Officer Fraire came to the scene to assist in translation. During field sobriety tests, Jose showed several signs of impairment and was placed under arrest for DUI. Jose agreed to the state test and was booked into the Whitfield County Jail, where he showed a BrAC of .146. He was charged with DUI, no license, turning movements, failure to maintain, and open container violation.
Unlicensed drunk driver arrested after almost crashing into patrol vehicle in Whitfield County
