A four-time convicted drunken driver is facing a fifth operating while intoxicated charge after he was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car with the engine revving Monday in the Town of Raymond.
Joseph H. Diem, 54, of Burlington, was charged Tuesday with OWI fifth or sixth offense, a felony, in Racine County Circuit Court. In addition, he is facing misdemeanor charges of resisting an officer and inattentive driving.
According to the sheriff’s department report filed with the case, two witnesses discovered Diem passed out behind the steering wheel of his car with the engine revving loudly on Three Mile Road in the Town of Raymond.
Fearing for Diem’s safety, the witnesses called for rescue. When the Raymond Rescue Squad arrived, they roused Diem, who allegedly told them he had too much to drink, the report said.
A sheriff’s deputy arrived a short time later and followed the rescue squad to Wheaton Franciscan St. Mary’s Hospital in Racine, where Diem was taken for treatment.
According to the report, Diem reportedly refused to allow the deputy to conduct sobriety tests and swore at him. After being told that his refusal would result in an automatic failure, Diem allegedly became agitated, demanded to speak to his lawyer and refused to consent to a blood test.
Although he later allowed medical personnel to draw blood, the report contends Diem again became aggressive toward the deputy and a sheriff’s lieutenant after they told him he was under arrest.
The officers then shoved Diem against a wall and took him to the floor. The report contends they had to threaten him with a Taser before he consented to being handcuffed.
He was taken to the Racine County jail and placed on suicide watch. He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday.
According to online court records, Diem has three previous drunken driving convictions in Racine County in 2002, 2006 and 2008, and one in Bayside in 1998.
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