SALEM, OR (KPTV) -
A Wheatland Ferry operator was booked Saturday afternoon on charges of BUI and reckless endangerment after a passenger reported smelling alcohol on his breath while crossing the Willamette River.
The passenger also said the operator had asked to collect fares twice, even though the fare had already been paid.
Upon receiving the call, Marion County Sheriff's deputies went to meet the ferry, where they confronted Brian Trussell, 57, of Salem.
Trussell told deputies that he had been drinking prior to his shift, and that he had liquor in his lunchbox as well.
A Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesman says Trussell failed a field sobriety test, and was arrested.
Trussell was booked into the Marion County Jail, where he's being held on $15,000.
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