Man posts Facebook video of himself drinking while driving, gets arrested

By Mike Flacy December 30, 2015

man posts facebook video of himself drinking while driving gets arrested drunk behind the wheel alcohol police — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Possibly attempting to set a new distracted driving record, 28-year-old Dustin Rittgers of Ohio was arrested recently after he posted a video of himself drinking alcohol while driving his car. According to the authorities, Rittgers recorded a 12-second video filming himself while taking a drink from a partially covered bottle of alcohol. The camera pans around to show Rittgers controlling the moving vehicle with a single finger on the steering wheel.

Rittgers posted the video publicly on his Facebook page and took time to respond to comments posted by friends. One of the comments on the post reads “Dude, Really!!!!!!”

Rittgers responds with “I am a good driver don’t worry…I gots one finger on the steering facebooking and it’s raining smh I am good. I am a pro.” After the video went live on his Facebook page, an anonymous source called in a tip about the video to the local authorities.

When the Franklin County sheriff’s office was alerted about the video, police were sent out to locate Rittgers south of Columbus, Ohio in Hamilton Township. Police officers located Rittgers, pulled over the vehicle and placed him under arrest. Rittgers racked up five misdemeanor charges, some of which included operating a vehicle impaired (OVI), following too closely and open container in a motor vehicle.

Speaking about the events that led to the arrest, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott said “This situation shows the power of social media. Social media led us straight to this suspect to stop him before he was able to hurt himself or others. Social media is another crime-fighting tool we use to keep Franklin County residents safe.”

Rittgers has plead not guilty to the charges. However, this isn’t the first time that Rittgers has been stopped for driving while impaired. Earlier this year, Rittgers plead guilty in a similar case after being stopped by state troopers during September 2014.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.