Man charged with felony fleeing

Published 10:04 am Monday, November 4, 2013

AUSTIN — A driver who allegedly fled a traffic stop and nearly hit an officer was charged with a felony Friday in Mower County District Court.

Zane Martin Roberts, 22, of Austin, was charged with felony fleeing in a motor vehicle and two misdemeanor counts of DWI.

An officer noticed two vehicles driving erratically on Interstate 90 at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, so he followed them off of the offramp and and initiated a traffic stop. When the officer got out of his squad car and approached, Roberts allegedly fled in his vehicle and nearly struck the officer. According to the court complaint, if the officer had not moved, he would have been struck. The officer pursued the fleeing driver to an apartment complex in southwest Austin where Roberts allegedly exited the vehicle, fled on foot and fell down an embankment and into a field. From there, the complaint added, Roberts fell down two more times, got back up and kept running. The third time he fell, officers grabbed him and arrested him.

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According to the court complaint, Roberts’ blood alcohol level at the jail was .10. He has a court appearance set for Nov. 14.