By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A 47-year-old Shawano man is facing his fifth drunken driving charge after allegedly driving the wrong way on a Wausau highway.
Police responded at about 1:30 a.m. May 14 to the area of Hwy. 51 northbound and County Hwy. U in Wausau to a report of a wrong-way driver. The driver, John P. Micik, was observed traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, police said.
Micik was stopped for the violation and allegedly refused to consent to standard field sobriety testing after deputies noted glassy eyes, slurred speech and swaying while standing as they spoke with him, court documents said. He also allegedly refused to submit to a breath test or a legal blood draw, though police collected a sample after obtaining a warrant.
Police say a DOT record check showed Micik’s driver’s license was revoked, and he had an IID requirement and a 0.02 percent blood alcohol restriction due to his four prior convictions. He also had an outstanding warrant through the Department of Corrections.
Micik was transported to a hospital for blood testing and later to the Marathon County Jail, where he registered a BAC of 0.13 percent during intake. His vehicle was towed from the highway.
Court records show Micik, whose most recent prior OWI conviction was in 2019, was charged May 15 with fifth-offense OWI and related offenses. He was ordered held on a $2,500 cash bond, with a a preliminary hearing set for May 24.
