Fargo man convicted of driving Zamboni drunk at hockey game

A Fargo, N.D., man has been convicted of operating a Zamboni while drunk, after the judge rejected his lawyer's argument that the ice-resurfacing machine didn't meet the definition of a vehicle under city code.

Twenty-seven-year-old Steven James Anderson was arrested in January during a girls' high school hockey game in Fargo after witnesses complained he was driving erratically and crashing into the boards. Police say his blood-alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle.

Defense attorney Lindsey Haugen said during the bench trial Tuesday that the law is not clear whether a Zamboni is considered a vehicle, or whether it is illegal to drive the machine on the ice while drunk.

Municipal Court Judge Stephen Dawson says state law is written to include such vehicles.