MADISON - Before his arrest, a Monroe man who crashed his car in Madison in an apparent heroin-induced state was administered life-saving measures by a quick-thinking nurse Thursday afternoon.
Jonathan R. Leverton-Duerst, 25, was arrested on a fourth-offense felony charge of operating while under the influence, in addition to charges of possessing heroin, drug paraphernalia and bail jumping.
The one-car crash happened around 4 p.m. Thursday on the ramp from South Park Street to the West Beltline Highway, according to a release from the Madison Police Department.
"Other motorists began honking horns after the suspect stopped his car on the ramp," wrote Joel DeSpain, public information officer.
Witnesses told police that Leverton-Duerst then accelerated quickly, veered off the road into a ditch and crashed into a fence.
A nurse driving directly behind Leverton-Duerst was among several people who went to his aid.
"She felt for a pulse and found none. Following her training, she pulled the 25-year-old from the driver's seat and onto his side. He began to turn blue and remained unresponsive. That's when she began CPR," according to DeSpain.
Madison Fire paramedics arrived and took over for her. Leverton-Duerst was revived and taken to a hospital. No injuries related to the crash were reported. Police found heroin and drug paraphernalia in the crashed car.
Leverton-Duerst was charged with his third-offense OWI after a similar incident last summer near Monroe, according to court records. On Aug. 3, he crashed into a ditch off Wisconsin 69. He had "slurred, slow speech," nodded off in the driver's seat after the crash and was so disoriented he handed the deputy a bag of potato chips when asked for his driver's license.
That case is still pending, but court records indicate he is currently on probation for a Dane County conviction of possessing narcotic drugs and, as of his sentencing hearing earlier this month, was scheduled to begin intensive outpatient drug treatment March 15.
Jonathan R. Leverton-Duerst, 25, was arrested on a fourth-offense felony charge of operating while under the influence, in addition to charges of possessing heroin, drug paraphernalia and bail jumping.
The one-car crash happened around 4 p.m. Thursday on the ramp from South Park Street to the West Beltline Highway, according to a release from the Madison Police Department.
"Other motorists began honking horns after the suspect stopped his car on the ramp," wrote Joel DeSpain, public information officer.
Witnesses told police that Leverton-Duerst then accelerated quickly, veered off the road into a ditch and crashed into a fence.
A nurse driving directly behind Leverton-Duerst was among several people who went to his aid.
"She felt for a pulse and found none. Following her training, she pulled the 25-year-old from the driver's seat and onto his side. He began to turn blue and remained unresponsive. That's when she began CPR," according to DeSpain.
Madison Fire paramedics arrived and took over for her. Leverton-Duerst was revived and taken to a hospital. No injuries related to the crash were reported. Police found heroin and drug paraphernalia in the crashed car.
Leverton-Duerst was charged with his third-offense OWI after a similar incident last summer near Monroe, according to court records. On Aug. 3, he crashed into a ditch off Wisconsin 69. He had "slurred, slow speech," nodded off in the driver's seat after the crash and was so disoriented he handed the deputy a bag of potato chips when asked for his driver's license.
That case is still pending, but court records indicate he is currently on probation for a Dane County conviction of possessing narcotic drugs and, as of his sentencing hearing earlier this month, was scheduled to begin intensive outpatient drug treatment March 15.