As lightning storms moved across Summit County the evening of July 27, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office investigated five different reports of smoke sightings. Most turned out to be low-sitting clouds, but one investigation resulted in an unrelated arrest.

Around 8 p.m., deputies were looking for smoke on the south side of Swan Mountain Road, which has been closed for reconstruction since April. Summit County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mike Schilling said a man rode a dirt bike past deputies when they were in the construction area.

“Not only did he go around all the (road closed) signs, he was also on a bike that wasn’t legal on the road,” Schilling said. 

One of the deputies yelled at the biker to stop, and he pulled over. Schilling said deputies suspected the man of being under the influence of alcohol, but the man refused to perform roadside maneuvers or take a chemical test. Suspecting the man of driving under the influence, deputies checked the man’s record for prior convictions. They found he had three or more prior DUI convictions, making this instance a felony charge.

Deputies arrested the man on charges of felony DUI, driving on a closed road, driving with a revoked license and failure to provide proof of insurance. Schilling said a “shooter,” or small plastic alcohol bottle, fell out of the man’s coat while he was talking to deputies.

The man told deputies he was driving on Swan Mountain Road to get to one of the campgrounds on the north side where his sister was camping. The campgrounds are accessible from the north side of Swan Mountain Road where it intersects with U.S. Highway 6.

“Wouldn’t we all just love to take the shortcut this summer?” Schilling said. “That road is closed for a reason. It’s for safety reasons, and it’s got to be respected.”

Schilling said this was the first instance he knows of during Swan Mountain Road’s two-summer-long reconstruction that deputies have caught someone driving across the closed road. He said the Sheriff’s Office has received reports of people driving through the closed area, and he has even seen someone do it from a distance, but deputies had not caught anyone until now. 

“In this case, we just happened to be around the corner as this motorcycle came by,” Schilling said. “It was really just a happenstance.”

Driving on a road under construction can be dangerous, Schilling said, because the driver does not know what the road’s condition might be. If deputies need to drive on a road under construction, they call dispatch to have them get clearance from the project’s contractors, he said.

“At any time, it could become unpassable,” Schilling said. “You’re coming around a corner, a curve — you have no idea what’s on the other side.”

Schilling said the Sheriff’s Office appreciates the community’s willingness to make longer drives around Dillon Reservoir while Swan Mountain Road has been closed for construction.