Man Charged in Crash Near Highway 164

A 55-year-old New Berlin man is facing felony drunk driving charges after he allegedly got into an accident in Waukesha on June 29 while driving drunk.

Joseph P. Ament was charged in on Monday with one count of second offense operating while intoxicated and causing injury, one count of fourth offense operating while intoxicated within five years and one count of failure to install an ignition interlock device. If convicted, he faces up to 12-½ years in prison and $20,600 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 2:32 p.m. Friday, June 29, Waukesha Police officers were called to the intersection of Highway 164 and Les Paul Parkway after an accident was reported in the area. Officers found Ament there, who said he was travelling eastbound in the left lane when another car made a left turn in front of him and he was unable to stop.

The driver of the other car sustained injuries in the crash.

While talking with Ament an officer noticed the strong smell of intoxicants coming from his breath. When asked how much he had to drink, Ament said one beer.

He then failed field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol level of .084 percent. Officers then searched his car where they found a half-full beer can under the arm rest next to the driver’s seat and nine cans of beer in a cooler in the trunk, two of which were empty.

Ament was previously convicted of OWI in 1993, 1998 and 2009. He’s currently free from jail on $10,000 bond while awaiting trial.