By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 53-year-old Athens man facing his fifth drunken driving charge appeared to be so intoxicated police had to call off field sobriety tests for his own safety, according to the police report.
Rothschild say Jay Zunker was weaving in his lane and crossed the center line several times before he was stopped at 10:33 a.m. Sunday in the northbound lane of Hwy. 51 near Kowalski Road.
“I’m busted,” Zunker allegedly told the arresting officer, when he approached Zunker’s vehicle. A preliminary breath test shows Zunker was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.33 percent, more than four times the legal limit.
Rothschild police say they found two open containers of beer on the passenger seat of the black Chevrolet truck Zunker was driving. The officer did not ask Zunker to complete some field sobriety tests amid fears Zunker could have stumbled onto the highway, according to the criminal complaint.
Zunker was previously convicted of drunken driving in 1997, twice in 2005, and again in 2012, according to court records.
Zunker is due in Marathon County Circuit Court this afternoon for an initial appearance on charges of fifth offense drunken driving and bail jumping. Court records show Zunker was out on bond for an unrelated case when he was arrested.
