Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke’s 1998 arrest for drunk driving has been public knowledge for years, but a newly-revealed police report has brought to light even more allegations of disturbing details from the arrest.
The Houston Chronicle reported on Friday that newly-obtained police reports alleged “two elements of the incident that have been overlooked: that there was a crash involved, and that O’Rourke allegedly attempted to flee.”
A reporter who witnessed the crash said that he observed O’Rourke traveling at a “high rate of speed” in a 75-mph zone as O’Rourke then “lost control of the vehicle and struck a truck.”
O’Rourke then reportedly attempted to flee the scene of the crash after hitting someone, but the reporter was there to stop him from getting away.
The Texas Department of Public Safety report “described O’Rourke as having ‘glossy’ eyes, slurred speech, smelling of liquor, and almost falling to the ground as he got out of his car,” the Chronicle added.
O’Rourke tried to claim that he had only consumed two beers and had taken “cold medication” while he was taking a friend home, but the police report does not mention that any passengers were with him in the vehicle. According to The Washington Free Beacon, “O’Rourke was tested on two police breathalyzers, blowing a .136 and .134. The state’s legal limit at the time was .10; it has since been reduced to .08.”
O’Rourke, who has long tried to characterize his criminal behavior as “youthful indiscretions,” was 26 years old at the time he was arrested for drunk driving and was 22 years old when he was arrested in 1995 on burglary charges.
In an op-ed on Monday, O’Rourke tried to downplay his criminal record by claiming that his actions do not “define” him.
