Saline County deputy arrested on DWI charge after crash

Chris Maher
Chris Maher

A Saline County deputy was arrested on a DWI charge Thursday night after crashing his sheriff's office vehicle into a tree in Bryant, according to a police report.

Bryant police arrested Chris Maher, who has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

“I take DWI very seriously and will not condone anyone, whether private citizen or Saline County sheriff's office employee, putting lives at risk when operating a motor vehicle while impaired,” Sheriff Rodney Wright said.

Police responded at 10 p.m. to a report of a single-vehicle crash near Boone Road and Shady Trail, where they found Maher's vehicle stuck in a ditch, Bryant police spokesman Sgt. Todd Crowson said.

The report states that Maher had run off the road and struck a tree about 500 feet west of Mount Carmel Road. He continued east on Boone Road before turning around to locate where the accident had occurred.

Failing to located the scene, he attempted to turn around on Shady Trail but drove into a ditch. He tried backing out several times, burning deep grooves into the asphalt with his tires, Crowson said.

Officers cited Maher with careless and prohibited driving after conducting sobriety tests then drove him to his home on Boone Road, according to the report.

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