Conservative Maryland Lawmaker Arrested For DUI One Year After Drunken Boating Accident
Baltimore, MD- Maryland Representative Don Dwyer is in trouble again after being arrested for drunken driving Tuesday just months after he pleaded guilty to a drunken boating after causing an accident that injured seven. Now, some of his colleagues are asking him to resign.
Dwyer, 55, was stopped in Pasadena by police at 12:42 am on Tuesday after police observed him driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 100, the Baltimore Sun reported. The police reported also noted that Dwyer was driving erratically and swerving in and out of lanes.
The Republican, who has been elected three times, told officers that he was returning from Baltimore where he drank two beers. The police reported stated that he smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and slurred speech.
After he failed at least three sobriety tests, Dwyer was placed under arrest. When he arrived at the Pasadena police station, Dwyer refused to take a breath test. Police also discovered that his tag had expired because he failed to get his emissions inspection.
Dwyer was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, and driving with an expired tag. His DUI charge is a misdemeanor, which still makes him eligible to keep his elected post, but his recent DUI along with his guilty plea for a boating under the influence has made both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to call for his resignation.
Last summer, Dywer was charged with boating under the influence after he caused an accident that injured seven people including a five year-old girl whose skull was fractured.
In that incident, Dwyer admitted he was drinking before his watercraft collided with another boat on the Magothy River. The cause both boats to sink and threw at least seven passengers, five of which were children, from both vessels into the water seriously injuring seven including Dwyer. A five year-old girl who was tubing was struck in the head by Dwyer’s boat.
Both boats sank to the bottom of the river, but were later recovered.
A blood test showed that Dwyer’s blood alcohol content was 0.20, twice the legal limit for the state of Maryland. He later apologized for the accident and pleaded guilty to the charges, but said he was going to run for reelection.
He served 30 days in jail and paid a $1,000 fine, but he appealed that decision and will have another hearing in October to determine his sentence. After he pleaded guilty, some of his fellow lawmakers moved to have him removed from the House Judiciary Committee and move to the Ways and Means Committee, but he wasn’t asked to resign, that has changed in light of his latest arrest.
“I’m obviously concerned about Delegate Dwyer’s health,” Del. delegate Steven R. Schuh said, according to the Baltimore Sun. “He’s publicly acknowledged within the last year his struggles with alcohol and depression.”
Dwyer’s BUI put a strain on his marriage and now with his second intoxicated operation charge his career is in jeopardy.
