Sheriff: Lawmaker drove intoxicated after Kentucky session

Associated Press
Updated ·1 min read

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky state representative was arrested early Thursday on accusations of driving while intoxicated only hours after the state House had adjourned, authorities said.

State Rep. Derek J. Lewis of London was charged with drunken driving, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Laurel County Sheriff’s officer Gary Mehler said he responded to a call and came upon a pickup truck in a ditch resting against a fence. Lewis got out and was “extremely unsteady," had slurred speech, glossy eyes and smelled of alcohol, Mehler said in an arrest citation.

Lewis refused to take a field sobriety test and became belligerent, Mehler added.

Lewis was arrested shortly after 1:30 a.m. in London, about 100 miles (165 kilometres) from Frankfort, where the House adjourned late Wednesday night about two hours earlier. The lawmaker was subsequently hospitalized and continued to refuse sobriety tests, according to authorities.

Lewis' attorneys at Croley Foley & Cessna said Lewis' vehicle struck a ditch after he had been working all day in Frankfort. The first-term lawmaker will plead not guilty to the charge, his attorneys said.

A spokeswoman for the Kentucky House of Representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.