When a driver was found unresponsive in a running vehicle that was in gear with all doors locked, he had one foot on the gas and one on the brake. Bystanders and a Greene County sheriff’s deputy could not get him to respond. The deputy broke a window.

Maclyn John Booher, 28, Bloomington, was arrested by Deputy Alan Jackson of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department last Wednesday, March 10, on a warrant that was issued as a result of an investigation by GCSD Deputy Michael Stanley into an incident that occurred on Thursday, February 4.

Booher has since posted bond and been released from the Greene County Jail. He’s charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony.

Deputy Stanley was dispatched around 6 p.m. on February 4 to a location on North County Road 1375 West in the Linton area after dispatch got a call about an unresponsive man who might have overdosed in his vehicle. Bystanders were on the scene trying to get the man to unlock his doors so they could help him. They said the man’s vehicle was in drive and he had one foot on the gas and the other on the brake.

When Deputy Stanley arrived, he found the man, later identified as Booher, passed out in a brown 2015 Ford Fiesta. Booher was unresponsive and the deputy’s attempts to arouse him did not work. He knocked on the window repeatedly. He checked all the doors in attempt to gain access but they were all locked. Deputy Stanley said it was raining which made it even more difficult to know Booher’s condition.

Officer Stanley grabbed his shotgun and used the buttstock to break the window on the back passenger side of the car. Once he had access, he was able to reach up to the gear shifter and put the vehicle in park and turn off the ignition.

Deputy Stanley said he could hear Booher breathing and he tried to wake him up by patting his shoulder. He also reached over to unlock his door to give EMS personnel access to assist Booher. Booher was loaded into an ambulance and transported to Greene County General Hospital. The deputy found a syringe on the left side of the gear shifter. He was able to talk briefly with Booher while he was in the ambulance. Booher said he was not diabetic, was tired and had been going through a lot.

A bystander said she first thought Booher was on his cell phone but when she realized he wasn’t moving, she called police. Another bystander said he had banged on the hood of the vehicle to try to get a response from Booher.

Booher was not arrested that night but a criminal case was filed against him in late February and a warrant issued for his arrest.