A Saline County sheriff's office deputy who was arrested on a DWI charge last month has been fired.
Chris Maher had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the March 31 crash in Bryant.
The sheriff's office said Thursday that the investigation revealed Maher violated department policy and that he was then fired.
A police 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, police said.
Failing to locate the scene, he attempted to turn around on Shady Trail but drove into a ditch, police said. He tried backing out several times, burning deep grooves into the asphalt with his tires, Bryant Police spokesman Todd Crowson said earlier this month.
Saline County sheriff Rodney Wright said in a statement that he takes "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."