A New Jersey man was arrested with his friend when the two of them attempted to cover up their drunken misadventures with ice, Jersey authorities say.
Brian Byers, 20, crashed his relative’s BMW while intoxicated, then returned with his buddy to pour water on the intersection to make it appear as if he’d lost control of the car on black ice, Sparta police say.
The slippery plot started when Byers sped past a stop sign, slamming the 2001 black BMW into a guardrail. He then drove the damaged BMW to his house, less than a mile away, filled a few five-galloon buckets with water, and hitched a ride with another intoxicated friend back to the scene of the crime, said police. He and his co-conspirator then sloshed water across Sawmill Road, possibly making multiple trips, in order to lay a thick sheet of black ice across the roadway.
They were almost home free when an officer on patrol spotted them walking toward’s the friend’s silver 2005 BMW.
They got in the car and tried to play it cool, with the friend, Alexander Zambenedetti, shirtless, and two plastic buckets in the back seat.
Zambenedetti claimed he’d taken a spill in the snow and gotten wet, so he decided to strip down, despite the frigid 1 degree temperatures.
He denied taking part in Byers’ icecapades, and told officers he didn’t drive him, even though he was sitting behind the wheel of the running vehicle when cops arrived on the scene.
Both men were charged with driving while intoxicated. Byers was also charged with failure to report an accident, and creating a dangerous condition.
The two spent the night in lockup, and were released to “sober adults” in the morning, per police.
The duo’s handiwork was melted away with a half-ton of rock salt.
