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Ice resurfacer driver arrested on suspicion of DUI during hockey game

Ice resurfacer driver arrested on suspicion of DUI during hockey game

Davies High School beat Williston 5-4 in girls' hockey on Friday, but the story of the night was what occurred at the end of the first period.

While the teams took a break for intermission, the driver of the ice resurfacer was weaving around the ice “erratically” and bumping into the boards. After police were called to South Sports Arena, 27-year-old Steven Anderson, a six-year seasonal employee for the Fargo Park District, was arrested for a suspected DUI. He was charged and released on bail Saturday morning.

Anderson had recently been in trouble for another DUI charge.

From InfoForum:

He was arrested and convicted of another DUI charge in December, according to North Dakota court records.

Anderson pleaded guilty to that DUI charge and was sentenced to 20 hours of community service and was not allowed to use alcohol until Jan. 6, records say. He was also fined $1,000.

In that same incident, he was also charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

Larson said the Park District was unaware of the Dec. 15 DUI or possession charges but said the district conducts background checks on its employees at least once per year and has a zero-tolerance policy about drinking on the job.

Anderson has since been fired and district officials will discuss the incident on Monday.

The coaches for Davies and Williston decided to play on the non-resurfaced ice rather than wait for another driver to come and replace Anderson.

This isn't the first time, nor likely the last time, the driver of an ice resurfacer found themselves in a ZUI situation. You might remember Joel Bruss, a 34-year old driver from Minnesota whose 10-minute ice resurfacing job turned into a half hour after he missed large patches and kept banging into the boards. His blood alcohol level was .32, four times the legal limit, and was given two years probation after pleading guilty to one gross misdemeanor.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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