Early Saturday, a man riding a horse on the eastbound 91 Freeway in Long Beach was arrested on a DUI charge.
The 29-year-old Placentia man was apparently celebrating his birthday on Friday night. He had a BAC of 0.21%, more than double the legal limit, while riding his horse on the freeway early Saturday morning. According to police, the rider failed a field sobriety test and was booked into jail. The white Arabian horse, named Guera, remained unharmed and was returned home by the man’s mother. The rider was held in jail instead of posting $50,000 bail.
The California Highway Patrol’s Santa Fe Springs district took to Twitter to share the encounter: “So a horse walks onto the 91 freeway…no joke. Rider arrested by CHP for DUI in the greater Long Beach area. Don’t put yourself, your beautiful animal, or others in danger of being killed in traffic.”
“We get a chuckle out of the interesting situations we encounter from time to time, but one thing the CHP does not do is ‘horse’ around with DUI,” the patrol district wrote on Twitter.
When officers were questioned on Twitter about the legality of charging a DUI for a violation not involving a motor vehicle, the officers quoted the California Vehicle Code: “a person riding an animal upon a highway is subject to all of the same rights and duties as someone operating a vehicle upon a highway.”
Remember, don’t endanger yourself, your animals, or others. Make sure your horseback riding is a sober activity!
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