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CARLSBAD – Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a downtown Carlsbad street shortly after midnight Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The longtime NBA team owner spent about eight hours at Vista Jail after being booked on suspicion of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or greater, authorities said.
Buss, 74, who lives in the Los Angeles community of Playa del Rey, owns a second home in the North County and spends quite a bit of time there, said John Black, a Lakers spokesman.
Black declined to say whether the home was in Carlsbad.
Buss' passenger, a 23-year-old bathing suit model from New York, was not arrested.
“Although I was driving only a short distance, it was a bad decision and I was wrong to do it,†Buss said in a written statement. “It was a mistake I will not make again.â€
Buss first caught the attention of two California Highway Patrol officers as he drove south on Carlsbad Boulevard at 12:50 a.m., said CHP officer Tom Kerns.
The officers began to follow him because the high beams on Buss' gold Mercedes E-320 were on, said CHP officer Tom Kerns.
Buss braked suddenly and made a wide right turn onto Mountain View Drive, and then drove on the wrong side of the road for a short distance, Kerns said.
He continued driving at about 20 mph when the officers tried to pull him over until he finally stopped.
“He was cooperative,†Kerns said.
He was booked after a field sobriety test and a blood draw at the CHP station in Oceanside.
His next court date is scheduled for July 10 at 7:30 a.m. in Vista.
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