clipped from: www.newsfocal.com   

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - State Police arrested a man early Tuesday whose blood alcohol level allegedly was .491, more than six times the legal limit, which they believe is the highest ever recorded in Rhode Island for someone who wasn’t dead.

The man, 34, was arrested after he drove into a highway message board on Interstate 95 in Providence, Maj. Steven O’Donnell said.

After police arrived, the man had trouble getting out of the car, then grabbed it and refused to move, forcing troopers to carry him to the breakdown lane before taking him back to their barracks, O’Donnell said.

A Breathalyzer test showed the man had blood alcohol readings of .489 followed by .491, O’Donnell said, the highest readings anyone at the State Police or the Department of Health could remember for someone who didn’t end up dead.

The legal limit in Rhode Island is .08. A blood alcohol of .3 is classified as “stupor,” .4 is “comatose” and .5 is considered fatal, according to the health department.