Man driving without lights arrested for OVI

VERMILION TWP. — A Vermilion man is facing an OVI charge after allegedly using his cellphone in place of his vehicle's headlights. The 28-year-old is facing one count of OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor and two minor misdemeanors: lighted lights required and unsafe vehicle. Just before 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a deputy observed a vehicle traveling westbound on U.S. 6 in Vermilion Township. The deputy noted that the vehicle did not have functioning lights. As the eastbound deputy passed the vehicle, he observed a light between the driver's side door and the windshield, according to an Erie County Sheriff's Office report. The deputy turned around and followed the vehicle, which he noted to be westbound in the eastbound lane, the report states. The deputy then initiated a traffic stop. The driver told the deputy his lights were on but the vehicle then lost electrical power. When asked, the man said he was coming from a Vermilion bowling alley. The man allegedly had an overwhelming odor of alcohol emanating from his person, the report states. When the deputy asked how much the man had consumed, the man reportedly said one tall boy beer. Deputies took the man through standardized field sobriety tests and they noted several clues that the man was too impaired to drive. When a deputy offered the man a portable breath test, he declined. At that point, he was arrested for OVI and transported to the Perkins police station for the opportunity to provide a breath sample, the report states. The man also refused that test and was marked as a refusal. Deputies seized his license and informed him he was under pre-trial suspension. The report noted that the man does not have any previous OVI convictions.