Joplin DWI Suspect Flees the Scene of a Rollover Accident

A suspected drunk driver rolls his SUV and then leaves the scene of the accident in Joplin. Last night (Tuesday 10/16) Joplin police were called to Lone Elm and Northridge where an SUV had rolled over and was on its top in the drainage ditch. A witness told officers that the male driver was injured and fled on foot. Residents in the area began calling Joplin Police saying that an unknown male was contacting them saying he had “beat a DWI” and that the male even asked one area resident for a beer, duct tape and a cell phone. The suspect was arrested by a Jasper County Sheriff’s Deputy near Jackson and Hampton and was uncooperative. He was transported to a local hospital because of a broken arm and other injuries from the crash. At the hospital, the driver spat on a Joplin police Officer, adding a charge of assault on law enforcement to his other pending charges of  leaving the scene of a crash, driving while revoked and the DWI. He is currently still in the hospital and Joplin Police Captain Trevor Duncan says that charges will be filed and his name and information will be released at that time.