A Casper man was arrested for his eighth driving under the influence charge Thursday afternoon after running through a red light, crashing into another vehicle and leaving the scene.

Forty-year-old John Cartwright Van Nes was arrested just after 6 p.m. Thursday afternoon for felony DUI, driving without an interlock device, failing to stop, property damage, reckless driving and interference with a peace officer, according to an arrest affidavit.

A witness said he saw Van Ness drive his Dodge Ram through a red light on South Second Street at "like 90 mph" before hitting another vehicle. The witness then followed Van Nes, who left the scene, and followed him to a residence, blocking Van Nes in until law enforcement arrived.

When officers arrived, they spoke with Van Nes who had slurred speech and the strong odor of alcohol on his breath.

Officers attempted to place Van Nes in handcuffs but he pulled away until officers were able to bring him down. After he was handcuffed, Van Nes denied drinking and said he was simply in a hurry to get home.

Police searched Van Nes' vehicle and found an empty 75 milliliter bottle of Fireball Whisky. They also saw that his truck had extensive front-end damage and was leaking fluids.

Because he refused to take a breath test, police applied for and were granted a search warrant to take a blood sample from Van Nes to determine his blood alcohol level. The results were not immediately available, but officers observed Van Nes to have slurred speech, watery and bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet.

Van Nes has seven prior DUI charges in Natrona County which occurred in July 1998, July 2000, September 2001, March 2007, December 2013, August 2016 and September 2017. He was convicted of six of those with court documents listing the status of the 2017 charge as unknown.

He is expected to make his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Friday.

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