JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: "Demolition Derby" On James Ave. N. As Drunk Driver Hits Four Cars...

Photos and blog post by John Hoff

It happened Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning: a drunk male (other details unknown) smashed his car into four vehicles on the 2600 block of James Ave. N.

A very cooperative and law abiding drunk driver--except for the drunk driving part--he reportedly emerged from his vehicle and presented his drivers license and proof of insurance to stunned onlookers before being taken into police custody.

These photos were taken early Wednesday morning after the late-night party, when I was driving down James Ave. N. and saw two smashed up vehicles that looked like they had been playing "bumper cars." Not sure whether police had been notified, I called 911...

The dispatcher took some details and checked her log, saw some activity in that area from the night before, but said the matter looked "unresolved," especially if two smashed up cars were still at the scene. Like a good citizen, I stood by until the police called me back. The dispatcher said two trucks should be on the way, but were just taking a while. The call had indeed been resolved.

"The drunk driver hit more than one car?" the dispatcher asked me, apparently more curious than anything.

At that point, I was in possession of info from one of the neighbors, a friend of my girlfriend Megan. So I told the dispatcher how FOUR CARS had been hit, and then the drunk reportedly emerged and grandly presented his info.

Two cars left at the scene, pictured above, tell part of the tale. The car at the top is a black Nissan Sentra, fairly new, driven or pushed by impact onto the grassy boulevard. Damage to the rear driver's side tire area is plainly visible. The Sentra has an Iowa license plate from Polk County, 370 LSE. The other car has damage both to the front and the rear, which means either it was hit TWICE or was used to hit other cars. I'm not sure what kind of car it is, because anything that would plainly say what kind of car it is has been ripped off, but it's a sporty silver car, four doors, license plate TLA 672.

No further information is available at this time but one neighbor in the area made the following pithy statement:

"I LOVE MY GARAGE."