DULUTH, Minn. — A northern Minnesota man was arrested on Dec. 30 after allegedly driving a coach bus carrying a high school basketball team while under the influence of alcohol.
The Minnesota State Patrol said a trooper encountered Shawn Edward Zelazny, 47, just before 6 p.m. in Cotton, Minnesota. He had been driving a bus carrying the coaching staff and eight boys from the Denfeld High School basketball team,
A criminal complaint filed against Zelazny says several of the kids were under 16 years old.
Witnesses in the bus said Zelazny was "driving erratically" and even hit a stop sign in Hibbing prior to the basketball tournament. Those aboard the bus say the defendant driver missed multiple turns, drove on the wrong side of the road and even required one of the witnesses to direct him out of town, according to the complaint.
Passengers say Zelazny showed signs of road rage and argued with coaching staff on his ability to drive the bus. They told investigators Zelazny eventually pulled into the El Toro Lounge in Cotton, Minnesota, and was given team water.
When troopers arrived to check on the situation they discovered Zelazny had a commercial drivers license, which lowers the legal BAC limit (normally .08 for non-commercial drivers) to 0.04.
Prosecutors say Zelazny's breathalyzer test resulted in a reading of .218, more than four times the legal limit for commercial drivers.
Zelazny smelled like alcohol and struggled to get his driver's license out of his wallet, according to a state trooper on the scene. He reportedly told authorities he "probably drank too much."
Zelazny was arrested for DWI and sent to St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth for evaluation. He is charged with three counts of driving while impaired, one of which involves driving a commercial vehicle.
The defendant has a prior charge of a DWI going back to 2012, according to online case filings.
Zelazny's first date in court for the December 30 incident is set for January 31 at 10:10 a.m.
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