A member of the LaPorte County Council almost collided with a police vehicle then was arrested for drunk driving, police said.
Matthew Bernacchi, 28, of 3885 W. Timber Ridge Road was booked into the LaPorte County Jail early Sunday for Class A misdemeanor operating while intoxicated.
According to LaPorte County Police, at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, a 2010 Dodge Ram pick-up truck pulled out of an alley on Michigan Avenue in front of LaPorte City Hall.
LaPorte County Police Sgt. Mike Kellems had just arrested a drunk driving suspect and was taking that offender to the county jail.
Kellems said he had to brake hard and steer quickly to his right to avoid a head-on collision with the driver later identified as Bernacchi.
Kellems said he noticed the vehicle start to pull out in front of him soon enough to avoid a collision.
''It wasn't as close as it could have been,'' Kellems said.
After alerting other officers, another patrolman followed the vehicle northbound over the U.S. 35 overpass.
Police said Bernacchi veered across the center line four times in less than a quarter mile before stopping in the parking lot of Taco Bell, 202 Pine Lake Ave.
According to county police, Bernacchi told the arresting officers ''I know I've been drinking.'' He then submitted to a certified Breathalyzer test and failed with an alleged blood alcohol concentration of .18 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Bernacchi, a Democrat, was elected to his first term on the county council in 2008.
