BOZEMAN — A Gallatin County man who allegedly drove the wrong way on Interstate 90 on Monday morning and then resisted officers during a DUI investigation was seen in Gallatin County Justice Court on Tuesday morning.
Zachary Andrew Chamberlin, 32, was charged with criminal endangerment, a felony.
According to charging documents, a report of a reckless driver was received at approximately 1:40 a.m.
The witness reported seeing a vehicle driving eastbound in the westbound lane as she entered the interstate from the airport interchange, visibly swerving and came toward her head-on in her lane. The woman avoided a crash, telling the dispatcher that she drove onto the shoulder of the interstate: “Almost into the ditch, to get out of his way. He flew by me, it seemed like he was going extremely fast.”
An officer responding to the call also had to pull off the interstate onto the shoulder when a white cargo van looked like it was going to collide with the officer head-on.
The officer attempted to pull over the driver, but after activating his turn signal, Chamberlain reportedly continued to drive down the interstate at approximately 70 mph before finally stopping the vehicle.
When contacted by the officer, Chamberlin reportedly had red, bloodshot eyes, and his speech was slurred. The officer reported smelling the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Chamberlin as allegedly staggered as he got out of the vehicle and he was wearing his shoes on the wrong feet.
Chamberlin reportedly resisted officers as they tried to handcuff him and ignored repeated commands, but stopped once he was stunned with a Taser. Once in handcuffs, Chamberlin allegedly refused to take a preliminary breath test and blood test.
In court on Tuesday, prosecutors said Chamberlin had a previous DUI in the early 2000s before he was 21 years old. Chamberlin’s next court date is Dec. 24, 2020.
