SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - A Sheboygan man is facing several charges for being the alleged driver in a one vehicle minor accident near Sheboygan’s Workers Water Street Park this week.
Sheboygan County prosecutors charged 53 year old Mark Kolar Thursday with his seventh OWI offense, his first offense for driving with a revoked license, possession of drug paraphernalia.
The criminal complaint states Sheboygan Police were called to the accident scene the night of January 26. There they found a vehicle driven off the road and one person, Kolar, leaving the area with a liter bottle filled with Seagram’s 7 whiskey. An officer also reported Kolar exhibited signs of being under the influence with glassy eyes, very slurred speech, and the smell of an intoxicant from his breath.
While being interviewed, an officer noticed Kolar dropped a metal pipe in the snow. When shown this, Kolar allegedly said, “Yeah, you got me.” He reportedly said he had used the pipe in the past to smoke cocaine but, more recently, marijuana.
When asked what happened, Kolar reportedly told officers he was a passenger in the vehicle when the accident occurred, and he needed to get out of the driver’s side door because his door was locked.
That story was put into doubt after police interviewed two teenagers who witnessed the accident. One said he did not see anyone come out of the vehicle, so he ran to a home to contact police. Once he was back outside to check on the vehicle the man, identified as Kolar, got out. Both teens say the man asked them not to contact police as he pulled a bottle of liquor out of his jacket and tried to leave the scene.
Police also found footprints in the snow that suggest only one person got out of the vehicle after the accident. When presented with this evidence, Kolar continued to deny being the driver of the vehicle and refused to take field sobriety tests. That led to his arrest, reportedly causing Kolar to react in an agitated manner, which included yelling and swearing.
Kolar now faces over ten years in prison if found guilty.
