Baldwin Borough Police Briefs (March 21-27)

If you think that has had its share of drunken drivers lately, you're not imagining it.

The  is reporting two driving-under-the-influence arrests from last week; though, the first arrest was for a driver that police believe to have been under the influence of marijuana rather than alcohol.

On March 25 at approximately 8:50 p.m., a Baldwin police officer was directing traffic on East Carson Street/River Road in the borough because a disabled vehicle was blocking one of the lanes.

Around that time, that officer reported that a vehicle being driven by Dale Adolph Egenlauf, 31, of 241 Arabella St. in the Knoxville neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh, came driving toward the officer at a high rate of speed.

The officer motioned with his flashlight and by waving his arms for Egenlauf to slow down, according to police, but his vehicle continued progressing at its high rate of speed. As the vehicle — which was being operated with just one headlight — came closer to the officer, the officer shouted for the driver to stop, which he eventually did in what the officer described as an "abrupt" fashion.

The officer reported that when Egenlauf was questioned about why he was driving so fast, he said that he did not see the officer since he was looking at the lights on his police car instead.

The officer reported detecting the odor of marijuana coming from Egenlauf's vehicle as he was talking to him.

When Egenlauf was asked for his license, he could not provide any. He did provide his name, though, and the officer found out that his license was suspended.

The officer reported that Egenlauf admitted to smoking marijuana approximately 30 minutes prior to being stopped by the officer.

After going through field-sobriety tests, Egenlauf was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

He was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center for a blood test. Results of that test are pending.

He was then taken to his residence, where he was released to his father.

Police are charging Egenlauf with the aforementioned DUI, as well as for driving with a suspended license, careless driving and failing to comply with general lighting requirements.

On March 26 at approximately 6:45 p.m., a police officer was dispatched to the intersection of Churchview Avenue and Mellott Road in Baldwin Borough and was given the description of a vehicle that had allegedly crashed into a road sign there.

That officer learned that the vehicle in question was leaving the scene and that the person who contacted police about the accident had followed the driver to 3138 Vernon Ave., where the vehicle was pulled into a driveway. The driver had not exited the vehicle, though, by the time the officer reported to 3138 Vernon.

When the officer reached that location, the witness/caller was parked in his vehicle nearby and confirmed with the officer that the car parked in the driveway was the same one that had crashed into the road sign on Churchview.

The witness/caller told the officer that he had been following the vehicle now in the driveway on Vernon for a good while and that the vehicle had committed a number of traffic violations, including driving onto sidewalks and into lawns.

When the officer approached the vehicle in the driveway, the driver opened her door and exited the vehicle. The officer questioned the driver about whether or not she had struck the road sign on Churchview, which police said that she denied.

The woman then told the officer that she was sick and that she was diabetic. However, she refused medical attention.

The officer reported detecting a strong odor of alcohol coming from the woman's vehicle and from her breath.

The woman again refused medical attention, and when the officer accused the woman of lying about having diabetes, he reported her as saying, "Yeah, so what?"

After going through field-sobriety tests, the woman — identified as Diane Berner, 48, of 3138 Vernon in Baldwin — was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Berner was transported to Jefferson Regional for a blood test. Results of that test are pending.

Police are charging Berner with the aforementioned DUI, as well as for driving upon sidewalks and careless driving.