A DUI was reported on Feb. 2 at 12:20 am on Packer Avenue by Neville Hall, according to the Lehigh University Police Department crime log. LUPD went to the scene and arrested the suspect.
Chief Jason Schiffer said DUIs on campus are rare.
“It’s definitely not common for our officers to encounter that — certainly not on campus,” he said. “We have had a few DUI arrests with completely non-related Lehigh people. Occasionally we would come across people who were DUI. It’s very rare that it has student involvement.”
In this instance, the passenger was a Lehigh student, however, the driver was not. Schiffer said the driver was charged with a DUI but nothing has been finalized and is still going through the court system.
LUPD officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with an expired registration, according to the crime log. The suspect was taken into custody for suspicion of DUI and then transported and processed by the Northampton County DUI Center.
“This is rare for the most part because students do a good job of Ubering or organizing rides,” Schiffer said. “Fortunately, we have almost no instances of students drinking behind the wheel.”
Students caught drinking and driving will face the same legal repercussions as anybody else if a DUI is involved. Schiffer said the case goes to a local court. If the judge determines that there is enough evidence to charge the driver with a DUI, the case then goes to a county court.
The Lehigh student does not face the same charges as the driver and will not be going through the court system, Schiffer said.
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