Zamboni operator convicted of driving vehicle drunk at high school hockey game in North Dakota

Published May 03, 2016

This photo provided by the Cass County, North Dakota, Jail shows Steven James Anderson, 27, of Fargo, N.D. Anderson, who admitted being drunk in January while operating a Zamboni during a high school hockey game, was convicted Tuesday June 2, 2016 after the judge rejected his lawyer's argument that the ice-resurfacing machine didn't meet the definition of a vehicle under city code. (Cass County Jail via AP) (The Associated Press)

A Fargo man has been convicted of operating a Zamboni while drunk, after the judge rejected his lawyer's argument that the ice-resurfacing machine didn't meet the definition of a vehicle under city code.

Twenty-seven-year-old Steven James Anderson was arrested in January during a girls' high school hockey game in Fargo after witnesses complained he was driving erratically and crashing into the boards. Police say his blood-alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle.

Defense attorney Lindsey Haugen said during the bench trial Tuesday that the law is not clear whether a Zamboni is considered a vehicle, or whether it is illegal to drive the machine on the ice while drunk.

Municipal Court Judge Stephen Dawson says state law is written to include such vehicles.

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