"Charge: DWI on airport tarmac"

Friday, March 18, 2005

Charge: DWI on airport tarmac 
By Chao Xiong
The Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune 


He wasn't pulled over on a highway or residential side street, but when he
was arrested Tuesday, Ronald O. Ogembo had the telltale signs of a drunken
driver: the smell of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot eyes and trouble
keeping his balance, authorities said.

He acknowledged that he had been driving, too -- on the tarmac at
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Ogembo, who has twice been convicted of drunken driving-related offenses and
whose license was revoked in January, works for Sky Chef, a caterer for
major airlines. 

His blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit -- 0.235 percent
-- when he was arrested Tuesday for driving a service van on the tarmac,
according to charges filed Thursday in Hennepin County District Court.

A Northwest Airlines employee had alerted authorities to Ogembo's alleged
intoxication.

Ogembo, 35, told officials he had two to three beers at home before work and
said he had serviced an airplane the night he was arrested, the charges
said.

Metropolitan Airport Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan said that he was
unaware of the charges and that there have been no drunken driving arrests
on the tarmac in his four years with the commission.

"Obviously we don't want anyone driving under the influence anywhere in the
airport area, especially on the tarmac," he said.

Drivers must undergo training before being allowed on the tarmac and are
granted access with a special badge, he said. There are about 1,400 takeoffs
and landings at the airport daily. 

Sky Chef representatives could not be reached for comment; they contract
directly with each airline.

Court documents show a history of alcohol problems for Ogembo. In May, he
was convicted in Hennepin County for refusing to submit to a sobriety test.
He was convicted in January for drunken driving.

Ogembo was charged Thursday with first-degree driving while impaired and
driving after cancellation of his license.


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