INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis man could face felony OWI charges for allegedly driving while intoxicated with five children in his car.
Around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, a Homecroft police officer witnessed a 2009 Chevy Traverse strike a curb twice before coming to a stop at a red light on Banta Road. When the light turned green, the Traverse allegedly sat stationary for approximately 20 seconds – at which point the officer turned on his emergency lights.
According to the incident report, after the officer turned on his lights, the driver of the Traverse, 39-year-old Bawi Lian, resumed driving north on Madison Avenue and continued for another mile before coming to a stop.
During the traffic stop, the officer came to believe Lian was operating his vehicle while intoxicated.
Inside the vehicle were five juvenile passengers ranging in age from 2-to-16 years old.
Lian was taken into custody on preliminary charges of operating while intoxicated, operating while intoxicated with a passenger under 18 years of and neglect of a dependent.
He was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for a blood draw before being booked into the Marion County Jail.
