A man convicted of his 10th drunk-driving charge in Wisconsin blamed it on eating beer-battered fish.
A jury in Adams County found 76-year-old John Przybyla of Friendship, Wisconsin, guilty of drunk driving on Monday.
Przybyla faces a maximum of 12 1/2 years in prison, the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune reported.
The conviction stems from a 2014 traffic stop when a deputy noticed the smell of alcohol on Przybyla’s breath and asked him if he had been drinking, according to court documents. He said he hadn’t been drinking, but he instead ate beer-battered fish at a restaurant.
He was subsequently arrested and was taken to Moundview Memorial Hospital in Adams. He refused to take a blood test, saying it was against his religion. The deputy then got a warrant to carry out the blood test.
Tests showed that Przybyla had a 0.062 blood-alcohol concentration. Wisconsin residents with three or more drunk-driving convictions have a legal blood-alcohol concentration limit of 0.02 percent.
Przybyla was found guilty of felony operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol content as well as misdemeanor operating while revoked, JSOnline reported.
For what it’s worth, beer batter contains a tiny quantity of alcohol. The alcohol in the beer batter doesn’t completely cook out. However, beer contains only around 3% to 8% alcohol. That means one would have to consume an impossible quantity of beer-battered fish to get drunk.
