Deputy finds beer cans inside Cadillac Seville overturned in ditch

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Deputies responding to a report of a possible car crash early Thanksgiving morning found the car, but the driver had left the scene.

According to the accident report, Jesse Campbell, Hillsboro, notified the sheriff’s office he was talking on the phone with his friend, Nathan Bartel, 20, of Hillsboro, who was driving south on Limestone Rd. at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour, when Campbell heard a crash.

When deputies found a crashed Cadillac Seville Touring Sedan in the east ditch of Limestone Rd. south of 290th Rd., Campbell was at the scene, but Bartel’s parents had taken him home.

The deputy reported the car had overturned and came to rest on its wheels, and several Budweiser Light beer cans were inside. An odor of alcohol was present in the car.

Another deputy went to Bartel’s home and noticed a slight odor of alcohol from Bartel, who seemed to have difficulty walking. Bartel said he did not remember anything except waking up in the ditch.

Emergency medical technicians drew blood from Bartel to determine the level of alcohol in his blood. Results are pending.

Bartel was charged Sept. 10, 2018, with purchase, possession, or consumption of liquor by a minor and entered a diversion agreement in that case March 19.