It wasn't a mirage after all

Ducks weren't the only thing swimming in Ross Gold Park on Friday.

A 56-year-old Carson City man drove a 1987 Dodge car into the pond around 11 a.m., after what he told deputies was a brake failure, said Carson City Chief Deputy Scott Burau.

"Obviously it didn't pass the float test," Burau said of the four-door sedan.

The driver, Robert Durham, was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving, a felony third offense, after deputies persuaded him to get out of the car, which came to rest in shallow water. Two 40-ounce beer bottles floated nearby.

Durham apparently was uninjured.

"He says he was at the park drinking while sitting in his vehicle," Burau said. "He said a mechanical problem with the brakes caused him to drive into the pond. It has not been determined if that was true.

"He had to be coaxed out of the vehicle onto the shore. Once on the shoreline, officers determined he was in all likelihood intoxicated."

He was arrested after a field sobriety test. Burau said the agency cannot disclose his tested blood-alcohol level.

He was additionally charged with driving on a revoked license.

"He was very cooperative but very intoxicated," Burau said.