Man Arrested on Suspicion of DUI During High School Girls’ Hockey Game While Driving Zamboni

Spectators at a Fargo, ND high school girls’ hockey game last week probably expected to see body checks, goals, and even maybe a couple of tumbles on the ice, but they probably didn’t expect to see a Zamboni driver getting arrested for DUI.

The operator of the Zamboni was resurfacing the ice when parents noticed that he was driving erratically and reported that he seemed to be impaired. Fortunately, no one was on the ice while he was operating the Zamboni.

In the United States, driving under the influence refers to operating a motor vehicle — generally a car or a truck — with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08% or higher.

Steven James Anderson, 27, was arrested last Friday night. According to CBS Sports, this is Anderson’s second drunk driving charge in a month — he was arrested several weeks ago and sentenced to 20 hours of community service. He was also fined $1,000 for the possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

For DUI charges, drivers can faces fines, jail time, and even license suspension or revocation.

According to Fargo Police, it doesn’t matter that the Zamboni wasn’t on a public roadway. North Dakota laws dictate that anyone who drives any kind of motor vehicle, anywhere, while under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be arrested.

Jim Larson, the director of finance and human resources for Fargo Parks, which runs the ice rink that hosted the hockey game, says that the district Anderson was working for was not aware of his prior arrest.

“Safety is critical,” Larson said in an interview with ABC News. “We consider this to be a very serious incident. On Monday we will take a full review to see how this happened and what we can do to keep it from ever occurring again.”