SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah, June 10, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — The driver of a Park City Transit bus that veered off the road Saturday morning and ended up in a ditch has been booked into jail on suspicion of DUI.
A probable cause statement from the Summit County Justice Court said Jason Benjamin Parker, 43, is facing charges of DUI of alcohol with BAC at or over .05, a class B misdemeanor, and failure to operate within a single lane, an infraction.
The statement said the crash happened Saturday just after 8 a.m. at Homestead Road in between Rasmussen Road and I-80, southeast of Jeremy Ranch.
“Upon my arrival, Jason Parker was outside of the bus on the roadway,” the arresting officer wrote. “Parker advised he fell asleep while driving, and that’s how the bus ended up in the ditch.”
At the time of the crash, the bus had one passenger. There were no injuries.
Parker was issued a citation for the failure to operate within a single lane; at that time, the officer did not smell any odor of an alcoholic beverage, the statement said.
“Parker was transported back to Park City Corporation for their internal investigation,” the statement said. “Later I was advised that Park City Corporation performed a breath alcohol test that showed results of .074.”
Officials then went back to Park City Corporation and made contact with Parker who advised he had consumed alcohol the evening before.
“Inside a smaller conference room without the outside conditions to disturb the environment, I could smell a light odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Parker’s person,” the statement said. “Based on the circumstances I arrested Parker for driving under the influence. I requested Parker submit to a blood draw. Parker complied and gave a sample of his blood.”
Blood results are pending, officials said.
“In the interview portion of the investigation, Parker admitted to driving the transit bus and falling asleep,” the statement said. “He advised he had consumed the alcohol the evening before.”
Parker was booked in Summit County Jail.
The road was closed for a significant period of time to remove the vehicle, the statement said.
