By Shereen Siewert
A 54-year-old man is facing his seventh drunken driving charge after a traffic stop Tuesday in Wausau.
Police stopped Todd Hutchison, of Wausau, after an officer saw him make an illegal turn from West Thomas Street onto Sixth Avenue, according to the police report.
Hutchison, who did not have insurance on his vehicle, underwent field sobriety tests after the officer detected a “strong odor” of intoxicants while the two were talking.
A preliminary breath test registered Hutchison’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.157 percent, nearly eight times the 0.02 percent legal limit imposed on him due to his six prior OWI convictions, the police report states.
Blood test results are pending.
Hutchison faces a felony charge of seventh offense operating while intoxicated filed Jan. 29 in Marathon County Circuit Court. During an initial appearance Wednesday, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser ordered Hutchison held on a $10,000 bond with the first $1,000 to be paid in cash.
Court records show Hutchison’s prior convictions spanned from 1990 to 2001.
A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 20.
