Feb 27, 2006 9:52 am US/Central
Former Viking Carl Eller Arrested; Accused Of DUI
Minneapolis (AP) ―
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Carl Eller
Hennepin County Jail
NFL Hall of Famer Carl Eller was arrested in Golden Valley, Minn. for driving under the influence early Sunday morning, according to the State Patrol.
A trooper stopped Eller after clocking him going 97 mph in a 55 mph zone westbound on Interstate 394 west of Highway 100 around 3:30 a.m., said Lt. Chuck Walerius with State Patrol's West Metro office. The trooper also saw Eller making a lane change and taking an exit ramp without signaling, Walerius said.
Field sobriety tests indicated that Eller was driving while impaired, so he was taken to Minneapolis Police's chemical testing facility, Walerius said.
Eller refused blood alcohol tests there and was held in the Hennepin County Jail until he was bailed out in the afternoon.
He was released on a $500 bail, according to the Hennepin County Courts Web site.
Walerius said Eller was booked on suspicion of 4th-degree DWI, a misdemeanor, which in Minnesota automatically enhances to 3rd-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor, if the person refuses to take the blood alchohol tests.
Eller was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the summer of 2004. He was the second of the Purple People Eaters defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings to make the Hall. He was preceded in 1998 by Alan Page.
He retired in 1979 after 16 NFL seasons. A five-time All-Pro who played in six Pro Bowls and four Super Bowls, he made a habit of recovering fumbles, grabbing 23 in his career.
Eller was an admitted former substance abuser who became a drug counselor in Minneapolis. Walerius said Eller's driving record appeared to be clean. The case was turned over to Golden Valley city attorney's office for prosecution, he said.
A message left by The Associated Press on Eller's cell phone Sunday night was not immediately returned.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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