Lawn Mower DUI: Florida Man Arrested For Fifth Offense

Lots of peculiar DUI stories going down this week. Although country singer Randy Travis’ alcohol-related arrest certainly takes the cake, this case ranks right up there with it. According to WDBO, 68-year-old Marion County resident James Gray was recently arrested for driving his lawn mower on the wrong side of the road. As you may already have guessed, Gray was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Sadly, this is the fifth time the Florida man has been busted for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

“The reason I’m stopping you is because you’re driving a lawn mower in the opposite lane of traffic,” the officer explained. When Gray stated that he believed he was piloting the mower in accordance with the law, the deputy added, “No, you’re not supposed to drive a lawn mower on the street at all.” The entire exchange was reportedly captured by the police car’s dash camera.

Reuters reports that the deputy found a cold beer in the lawn mower’s cup holder. Gray was also allegedly slurring his speech. When he was asked to complete a field sobriety test, the drunken lawn mowing enthusiastically responded, “I can’t do it. I had brain surgery and my equilibrium is off balance on account of that.”

After it become overwhelmingly apparent to Gray that he was in way over his head, he began pleading to the officer for lenience. “Sir, would you please give me a break?” he asked. “I just live… not this street, the next street down there. Let me go home.” Obviously, he didn’t get his wish.

Gray blew a 138 and a 0.147 after arriving at the jail, which is above and beyond the 0.08 limit. Adding another layer of sadness to this already-depressing tale is the fact that Gray doesn’t even own the lawn mower he was arrested for driving.