FORT SMITH - A Sebastian County sheriff’s detention deputy was suspended Thursday after he was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and following too closely, a sheriff’s office news release said.
The release said Tyler Steel, 27, was arrested after a two car accident on Zero Street at the entrance to Interstate 540 about 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Steel, who has been employed at the county jail since 2007, was suspended pending an internal investigation.
A Fort Smith police accident report said Steel had a blood alcohol level of 0.17 percent. A portable breath test Steel took at the accident scene registered 0.24 percent. A person with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater is considered intoxicated in Arkansas.
The report said that about3:30 a.m. Joshua Grow of Alma, driving a 2008 Hummer, was waiting at a red light at the intersection to turn onto the interstate ramp.
He noticed a vehicle coming up behind him but it did not appear to be slowing down, the report said. As it got closer, Grow tried to pull forward to avoid being hit but the car never slowed and ran into the Hummer’s rear end.
A police officer responding to the accident scene noticed Steel, who was driving a 2008 Kia Spectra, smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot eyes. Steel said he had consumed six beers that evening at a south Fort Smith night spot, the report said.
Because of the windy conditions, Steel was asked at the county jail to perform field sobriety tests, which he failed, according to the report.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 02/21/2014