A 70-year-old Berea man was arrested after a crash at about 6:30 p.m. last Monday at the southwest corner of West Bagley Road and Berea Street. Police say he was intoxicated. He suffered a severe ankle injury, and investigators later found more than 20 opened and unopened alcohol containers in his car.
The BMW 328, described as a classic car, came to rest badly damaged on the sidewalk with its airbags deployed, according to cleveland.com. The driver was still inside when officers arrived. His foot and ankle were trapped in the crushed floorboard, and he could not get out on his own.
Paramedics Rush to Stop the Bleeding
Paramedics applied a tourniquet to the man's injured ankle before freeing him from the car, the report said. He was taken to The MetroHealth System in Cleveland. A Subaru Forester was also involved; its driver and passenger were interviewed by police, and paramedics determined their injuries were minor.
The report said officers found more than 20 alcohol containers in the BMW, including opened beer and liquor and unopened bottles. The inventory included 15 bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and five of On The Rocks.
Driver Says He Blacked Out
At the hospital, the man told authorities he had consumed one beer, but said he did not remember the crash and had blacked out, according to the report. When officers arrived, he thought he was at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, miles from the crash site in Berea.
Berea has had other reported vehicle-into-building crashes, though the incidents are unrelated. News 5 Cleveland reported a separate crash in July 2024. Fox 8 News reported that it happened around 2 a.m. on Beeler Drive, where a car crashed into a home's living room and speed was considered a factor.
Ohio's impaired-driving laws carry financial consequences beyond court dates. Under state law, as laid out in the Ohio Revised Code, a portion of certain OVI fines must go toward incarceration or drug- and alcohol-treatment costs, the expense of immobilizing or disabling a vehicle, and electronic house-arrest equipment for qualifying offenders, with other portions deposited into a local indigent drivers' alcohol treatment fund.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol maintains an OVI Dashboard tracking impaired-driving violations and crashes statewide, saying that driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two threatens the safety of Ohio residents.
