Saturday, March 31, 2018

Cedar Rapids Radio: Station Owner 'Buzzed' Not Legally Drunk in Fatal

Rob Norton
A crash report obtained by KCRG-TV9 confirms Rob Norton, the driver in a wrong-way crash on I-380 that killed two people had a blood alcohol level of .06.

Cedar Rapids police this week said it may never know what caused Rob Norton, 69 of Iowa City, to drive the wrong-way on I-380 this past January. Norton drove south in the northbound lanes for about 3 miles before crashing into another car. Jennifer Koenighain, 28 of Cedar Rapids, was driving home from a yoga class in that other car. Norton and Koenighain died in that crash.

Rob Norton Jr. was the owner and CEO of KZIA, inc. in Cedar Rapids, which operates KZIA Z102.9 FM, Sports KGYM ESPN Radio and ROB 102.9 FM-HD2. Norton also founded KRNA radio before selling it in 1998.

Police this week could only say Norton had alcohol in his system but that he was not legally drunk. The details of his autopsy report are confidential records. Because Norton was not legally drunk along with other unknown factors, police say they cannot know for sure why Norton was driving the wrong-way on I-380 for so long.

Experts tell KCRG-TV9 even though .06 is below the legal limit for drunk driving, it is still dangerous to drive at the level and could lead to an arrest or worse.

Trooper Bob Conrad with Iowa State Patrol says, "We obviously use the law and the .08 but if things are so dramatic that you can't drive a car, just because you're barely under the legal limit doesn't mean you can go home scot-free.”

His best advice for ‘buzzed drivers,’ don’t drive.

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