GREENWOOD, LOUISIANA — A Love’s Truck Stop employee in Greenwood is being credited with potentially preventing a serious crash after calling police about a large Penske truck driver who kept falling asleep at a diesel pump on October 5 — and who turned out to have a blood alcohol content of .274%, nearly 3.5 times Louisiana’s legal limit.
An employee at the Love’s at 9600 US-80 contacted Greenwood Police around 4:04 p.m. after noticing the driver appeared lethargic and incoherent. Officers arrived to find Gustaf Onesmo Guga, 34, of Arlington, Texas, asleep in the front seat with the keys in the ignition. Open alcoholic beverage containers were in the cab. Officers noted an odor coming from the containers.
Guga denied vehemently that he had been driving and claimed he had only consumed approximately three-quarters of a 24-ounce Budweiser. He performed poorly on a field sobriety test and was arrested on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. At the Caddo Correctional Center his BAC registered 0.274%.
Police said Guga had a valid Texas driver’s license and claimed to be the owner-operator of his own trucking company. He remains held on a $2,500 bond.
Greenwood Police publicly thanked the Love’s employee for making the call. “This driver with this level of alleged impairment and a big truck could have caused real damage,” GPD said. “Thanks to the callers.”
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