On March 26, 2022, at approximately 1:30am, a Lake Hallie Police Officer was on routine patrol on County Highway OO at 110th St in the Village of Lake Hallie when he observed a dark colored pickup truck traveling northbound on County Highway OO. The truck would overcorrect as it came across the center line for an unsafe lane deviation. The officer learned the registered owner had revoked driving privileges as well.
As the officer was preparing for a traffic stop at 27th Avenue and Business Highway 53, a traffic complaint was dispatched to another Lake Hallie Police Officer for a “very intoxicated” male subject in an older black Dodge Dakota pickup truck. Based on this information, the vehicle was stopped on 27th Ave northbound on S. Prairie View Rd. The officer spoke with the driver, identified as Scott Vaningan (age 57) of Lake Hallie and detected the odor of intoxicants coming from the driver’s breath, the driver’s speech was slurred, and the driver’s eyes were bloodshot and glossy.
It was revealed that Vaningan had a revoked Wisconsin driver’s license, three prior OWI convictions, a 4th OWI arrest pending in Eau Claire County and had an alcohol restriction of no greater that 0.02. Vaningan voluntarily submitted to field sobriety testing and submitted to a preliminary breath test which yielded a result of .15. As a result, Vaningan was arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated -4 th Offense, with a current 4th OWI offense pending in Eau Claire County,
Operating While Revoked(criminal), Failure to Install the Required IID, Felony Bail Jumping for opened Eau Claire County, Threats to a Law Enforcement Officer and a Probation Violation Hold was also placed by the Department of Corrections. Vaningan was transported to the hospital for a legal blood draw. Throughout the arrest process and hospital visit, Vaningan made repeated verbal and physical threats towards the officers and hospital staff. Based on those observations, the Lake Hallie Police Department recommended charges of Obstructing/Resisting Arrest, Threats to Hospital Staff and Disorderly Conduct. Afterwards he was taken to the Chippewa County Jail for processing. The results of the blood test will not be known for several weeks as it will be sent to the Wisconsin State Hygiene Laboratory.
