Beer-Battered Man Blames Beer- Battered Fish

DECEMBER 10--During a recent traffic stop, a Wisconsin motorist who has nine prior drunk driving convictions on his record explained that the reason a sheriff’s deputy smelled booze on his breath was because he had just eaten beer-battered fish at lunch.

John Przybyla was pulled over by a cop who spotted the 75-year-old’s vehicle driving erratically. When the Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputy approached Przybyla--who was driving on a revoked license--he recognized the “smell of a moderate odor of an intoxicating beverage emitting from his breath.”

Przybyla’s eyes were also bloodshot and glossy, according to a police report detailing the 2:30 PM traffic stop. During field sobriety tests, Przybyla “showed impairment.” Additionally, Deputy Brian Loewenhagen found an open can of Red Dog Beer on the truck’s passenger seat.

When the deputy asked Przybyla (seen above) how much alcohol he had consumed, “John said he had not been drinking,” adding that he was heading home after attending an October 12 fish fry. Przybyla, Deputy Loewenhagen reported, “said he wasn’t drinking and had beer battered fish.”

Przybyla, who himself appeared to be beer battered, was arrested after failing the field sobriety tests. While a Breathalyzer test recorded Przybyla’s blood alcohol content at .062--below the .08 limit--his history of DWI convictions prohibits him from driving with a BAC above .02.

Along with his tenth drunk driving charge, Przybyla was booked on several other counts, including driving with a revoked license and possessing an open can of beer in a motor vehicle.

Przybyla, who lives in the village of Friendship, is next scheduled for a January 21 court appearance. (3 pages)