Driver Passes Out After Hitting Mailbox On Clague Road

WESTLAKE, OH — Police found a man slumped over and passed out behind the wheel of a car on Clague Road on Thursday.

Callers reported seeing someone asleep behind the wheel of the car at 4 a.m. Officers found the car at Clague and Stonehedge Drive. The driver was passed out, as callers had said.

The front of the car was damaged, and officers thought the damage looked fresh, according to a police spokesperson. The driver also had a gun in his waistband.

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Police woke the man and immediately took control of his hands so that he couldn't reach for the gun. The weapon was confiscated, police said. Officers determined later the gun was loaded.

The driver, a 23-year-old, was dazed and could not articulate why he was passed out on Clague, police said. Officers called the man an ambulance and attempted to administer field sobriety tests.

Police said they discovered the man's car had hit a pile of wood and a mailbox on Clague. The driver said he kept driving after the accidents to make sure his car would run, police said.

Officers took the driver into custody and brought him to Westlake Jail after he was cleared at a medical facility. The driver faces charges of operating a vehicle impaired, carrying a concealed weapon and failure to control a vehicle.

Suspected marijuana, a bong, several knives and pills in plastic baggies were also found in the man's car, according to police. The driver could face additional drug charges once a crime lab has analyzed the suspected narcotics, police said.