DPS trooper arrested for DWI - WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

DPS trooper arrested for DWI

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By Taylor Hemness - bio | email
Photo Courtesy Smith County Sheriff's Office Photo Courtesy Smith County Sheriff's Office

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SMITH COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - A DPS trooper, who wrecked his patrol unit on the way to work, has now been arrested for DWI.

Trooper Joe Don Abernathy was booked into the Smith County Jail on Monday afternoon. He was released on bond a short time later.

On November 5, Abernathy ran off the roadway near Old Bascom Road and Old Omen Road, not far from University Drive, where the DPS office is. The accident happened just before 8 a.m.

Abernathy was taken to a Tyler hospital, but was not seriously injured.

District Attorney Matt Bingham said that Abernathy arranged with authorities for him to turn himself in on Monday.

Abernathy's arrest affidavit from Monday says that he told officers at the scene that he swerved to avoid a deer, running off the road in the process. It goes on to say that when Abernathy was taken to the hospital after the accident, his blood alcohol content was .16.

Bingham confirms that Monday's DWI arrest is in connection with that November 5 accident.

DPS officials tell KLTV 7 that Abernathy resigned from the department on November 6, one day after his early-morning accident.

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http://www.kltv.com/story/20003250/dps-trooper-involved-in-wreck-in-tyler