This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Brookfield Drunken Driver Had Child on Floor, Charges Allege

The 44-year-old driver said one of the two children inside the van was sitting on the floor because there were no seats in the back, a criminal complaint says.

A Brookfield man drove drunk with two children in his van, one unbuckled on the floor, charges allege.

The arrest comes less than two weeks after on I-94 in Brookfield, according to a State Patrol trooper.

Daniel W. Nogalski, 44, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Friday with one count of third offense operating while intoxicated with a minor in the vehicle. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines.

Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 12:58 a.m. Friday, a Brookfield police officer saw Nogalski driving a van with a defective license plate light on Capitol Drive near Lilly Road. The officer found a 15-year-old child sitting in the passenger seat and a 11-year-old child sitting on the floor in the back of the van.

Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nogalski said the child was sitting on the floor because there were no chairs in the back. He said he didn’t know the license plate lamp wasn’t working. The officer noticed the smell of alcohol and Nogalski said he had two beers earlier in the night while at a friend’s house near North 110th Street and Capitol.

He then failed field sobriety tests and registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.012. He was arrested and the officer found a container in his pocket, which Nogalski said contained marijuana he uses for medical reasons after having some of his intestines removed.

Nogalski previously was convicted of OWI in 1996 and 1997. He was free on $1,500 bond while awaiting trial.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.