?A Salisbury man’s “beautiful day” was ruined when a deputy spotted him tossing beer cans out his window, a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report said.
Earl Jordan Ward, 68, of Hackett Street, was charged with driving while impaired, littering and possession of an open container.
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, Rowan Sheriff’s Deputy R.A. Amerson saw a gray Ford Ranger pickup parked on the Interstate 85 shoulder near exit 81, facing oncoming traffic.
When the driver saw the deputy, he tossed something out the window and into a nearby storm drain, Amerson said in a department report.
When Amerson approached the car, the driver, later identified as Ward, told the deputy he was, “watching traffic on this beautiful day.”
When the deputy looked in the storm drain, he found two Old Milwaukee beer cans. When he looked inside the truck, Amerson found two cases of Old Milwaukee, one with beers missing, and one open beer, the report said.
Ward had red, glassy eyes and appeared unsteady on his feet during a field sobriety test, Amerson reported. His blood alcohol content was 0.09 at the scene and a later test showed his blood alcohol content at 0.08.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.