Man Passed out in McDonald's Drive-thru Charged with DWI

An early morning McDonald’s run didn’t end well for an Española man after he fell asleep in the drive-thru and someone called 911, requesting a welfare check on him.

Española Police Officers Mark Webb and Ladislas Szabo found Charles Carpenter’s car in the drive-thru, still running, when they arrived on scene. Szabo tried to awaken the passenger, who was asleep, as Webb attempted to wake Carpenter, who was in the driver’s seat, slouched over, fast asleep and drooling. Though he was unconscious, he was breathing.

After several unsuccessful attempts to wake Carpenter, the paramedics were called.

Szabo reached through the passenger’s side and turned off the car, as the officers worried that if Carpenter woke up, he might try to flee.  

“As he was doing that, I attempted to wake up the driver one more time and lifted his torso which was leaned over towards (sic) the middle console,” Webb wrote in his incident report. “As I lifted the male up, he woke up and began speaking to me.”

As Carpenter spoke to Webb, the officer could smell alcohol coming from the vehicle. He also noticed Carpenter’s eyes were watery and bloodshot and his speech was slurred.

According to Webb’s report, he asked Carpenter where he was coming from and where he was. 

“Mr. Carpenter advised me that he was at McDonald’s in Española, NM, and that he was coming from work,” Webb wrote.

He learned that the man worked at a restaurant in Santa Fe and lives in the Middle San Pedro area. He said he’d eaten not too long ago and was tired from working 16-hour days, but was going to get a burger.

Webb asked Carpenter if he’d consumed any substances or drank anything that day or evening, to which he replied, “no.”

As Webb was speaking with Carpenter, Szabo retrieved two empty liquor bottles from the passenger side of the car. That’s when Webb asked Carpenter to perform field sobriety tests. The man agreed, but was unable to pass them.

“While exiting the vehicle, he had a hard time maintaining balance and utilized the vehicle for balance,” Webb wrote.

After failing the field sobriety tests, Webb arrested Carpenter and read him the New Mexico Implied Consent Advisory, then began the 20-minute deprivation period. At 3:04 a.m., New Mexico State Police Officer J. Sanchez administered a breath test to Carpenter, which he agreed to take.

He blew a .18 and .19 and did not request an additional independent test. Carpenter was charged with one count of aggravated driving while under the influence, first offense. He pleaded not guilty on Sept. 20, in Española Magistrate Court, according to an online court records search. He had a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Oct. 26.

His passenger was picked up from the scene and Carpenter’s vehicle was towed.