WINONA, Minn. — A witness told police seeing a driver crash into a trash bin on the West Side. Then, his car stuck in a snow bank, the driver walked off. The witness described the driver as a white male dressed in black. This was a little after 2 a.m. About three blocks away, near Fifth and Olmstead streets, officers located a man on foot and wearing black and matching the witness description. Samuel James Vonarx age 24, of Winona, said his car indeed was stuck in the snow but denied hitting the dumpster, police said. Vonarx smelled of alcohol, fumbled with impaired dexterity for his wallet, and had bloodshot and watery eyes, police said. He failed roadside sobriety exercises, they said. Also: His blood-alcohol tested at 0.23%, about triple what’s allowed. He was charged with driving while intoxicated.
