By Shereen Siewert
A 36-year-old Madison man is accused of driving drunk after leaving Marathon Park Saturday with a 5-year-old child in the vehicle.
Adam Girard is facing charges filed Monday in Marathon County Circuit Court of third-offense drunken driving with a passenger younger than 16, a felony. He was freed after posting a $1,500 cash bond.
Police responded to a call at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday about a man “stumbling” to his vehicle in the area of Marathon Park with a young child in tow. Using a license plate and vehicle description provided by the caller, police located Girard at a nearby convenience store, where he had stopped to buy beer and whiskey, according to the police report.
When questioned by police Girard, whose license is revoked due to his two prior OWI convictions, allegedly admitted being drunk but initially denied driving. According to the police report, Girard told officers he drove from his downtown hotel room and parked his vehicle at the convenience store, then walked to Marathon Park and consumed about one and a half pitchers of domestic beer. Eventually, Girard recanted that story and witnesses told police they saw Girard driving and observed him being “aggressive” with the girl, according to the police report.
Surveillance footage from the convenience store confirmed Girard was driving, the report states.
Girard, who has prior OWI convictions in 2004 and 2015, refused field sobriety and preliminary breath tests and was taken to a local hospital for a chemical test of his blood. Results are pending.
Due to the severity of the incident, police contacted Marathon County Social Services. The child was temporarily turned over to his grandfather in Wausau and was picked up by his mother, who lives in Madison, a short time later, police said.
A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 11.
