Watkinsville Police: DUI Arrestee Allegedly Threatens to Strike Officer

Police observed a 1999 Lincoln Navigator driving completely on the wrong side of Whitehall Road around 3 a.m. on Friday, Feb 24.  The police car avoided a head-on collision and then stopped the SUV, according to a news release from Chief Lee O'Dillon.

The driver of the vehicle advised that he was on the way home from a bar and the officer noticed that the man had an open beer can with him and appeared to be very intoxicated, the release stated.

After refusing to co-operate and threatening to strike the officer, Daniel Lee Hale, 33, of Saxon Road, was arrested and charged with DUI, disorderly conduct, driving on the wrong side of the road, open container of alcohol and driving on a suspended tag, O'Dillion noted.

In his weekly news release, O'Dillon recapped some of the other incidents that police responded to during the week ending Feb. 26.

• On Tuesday, Feb. 21 about 12:33 p.m.,  a 2005 GMC Denali and a 1987 Ford Taurus were involved in a wreck on Barnett Shoals Road near Second Street. The driver of the Taurus was attempting to pass the Denali as the Denali was making a turn. A 58-year-old Lexington woman was charged with improper passing.

• Police stopped the driver of a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass that was crossing over the center line on Main Street, downtown.  A 55-year-old Athens man failed sobriety tests and was charged with DUI and failure to maintain lane.

Police responded to a total of 31 calls within city limits between Monday, Feb. 20 and Sunday, Feb. 26.

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