Impaired visitor crashes Porsche into house

BY STAN MADDUX

The new owner of a Porsche heavily damaged the sports car and a house in an alcohol related collision during a Memorial Day weekend stay in a nearby tourist area.

Benjamin Zirkle, 21, is charged in La Porte Superior Court 4 with operating while intoxicated and reckless driving.

The crash occurred before 2 a.m. Saturday, May 27, on E. Bell Avenue in Hudson Lake.

According to La Porte County Police, Zirkle of Crown Point, Indiana, told investigators he obtained the 2018 model Porsche just recently and was not familiar with the area while showing off the car to a friend riding with him.

After missing a turn, police said the fast moving car traveled across a yard and struck the side of a house with enough force to move the dwelling partially off its foundation.

Police said it appears the driver tried fleeing but came to stop a few hundred feet away when the wheels locked up from the damage to the car.

Initially, the driver claimed he had not consumed any alcohol.

He also refused to submit to a field sobriety test while claiming “my dad’s a lawyer,” police said.

A search warrant was obtained to force Zirkle under an order from the court to provide a blood sample.

While awaiting the test results, police said he expressed concern about losing “his scholarship for college” if found to be impaired.

Zirkle was arrested when the test results placed his blood alcohol level at .092 percent or slightly above the .08 percent legal limit.

Police said both occupants of the car along with a man and woman inside the residence were not injured.

According to police, the male passenger was given a ride to a vacation home where he and Zirkle were staying for the weekend.

ARIES MARCH 21—APRIL 19