John Jefferson
Inset: Sen. Ken Yager (Glynn County Detention Center). Background: Sen. Ken Yager speaking (WATE/YouTube).
A senator from Tennessee who was reelected this year and is the chairman of the state’s Senate Republican Caucus was arrested for suspicion of DUI after he allegedly committed a hit and run while driving a car with legislative plates that was paid for using his campaign account, according to cops and reports.
Sen. Ken Yager (R-Kingston) was caught driving drunk in Glynn County, Georgia, with an alleged blood alcohol concentration level of 0.14 — nearly double the state’s legal limit of 0.08 — on Tuesday evening at around 5 p.m., according to the Tennessee Lookout.
Authorities on Jekyll Island, a beach resort town off Georgia’s coast, received reports of a Ford Edge with Tennessee license plates and the words “KEY” on them that had just left the scene of a hit-and-run after failing to stop at a stop sign. Georgia State Troopers responded and found Yager, 77, in the parking lot of a grocery store, where he was already being evaluated by emergency medical services after tripping and falling, police say.
Troopers at the scene reported smelling a “distinct odor of alcohol” on the senator’s breath, prompting them to ask if he had anything to drink. “A couple glasses of wine previously in the day,” Yager allegedly told them.
The married father-of-two agreed to take a Breathalyzer and field sobriety test, which he allegedly failed, before being hauled away for DUI and the hit-and-run, the Tennessee Lookout reports. He refused to take a blood test.
Asked why he left the scene of the crash, Yager — who was on vacation — allegedly said “he thought everyone was fine” and claimed he “spoke with the other driver,” according to cops.
Finance records obtained by the Tennessee Lookout show that Yager uses his campaign account to foot the bill for his lease on the Ford Edge. In total, he has spent $22,888 in campaign funds so far on the “vehicle lease, car insurance, oil and tire maintenance, car washes, details and county vehicle registration fees” since purchasing it in 2022, the Lookout reports.
Yager’s license plates with the official state seal can be seen in video footage of Yager’s field sobriety test, which shows him having trouble standing. He released a statement after his arrest, calling what happened to him an “unfortunate incident.” Yager has since bonded out.
“On the advice of my attorney, I cannot discuss the particulars at this time,” Yager said. “I am and will continue to cooperate fully with authorities to bring this incident to an appropriate conclusion.”
First elected to the Tennessee Senate in 2006, Yager represents the counties of Campbell, Clay, Fentress, Macon, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Roane and Scott. He was elected chair of the Senate Republican Caucus in 2018.
“My thoughts and prayers are with he and his family,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said in a statement Thursday.
Yager won back his District 12 Senate seat last month in a landslide victory over independent candidate Charles Hutson II.
According to the Tennessee Lookout, if Yager gets indicted, Senate ethics rules require that he step down as caucus chair or file an appeal with the Ethics Committee for a hearing to argue for his position.
Attempts to reach the Senate Republican Caucus by Law&Crime on Thursday were unsuccessful, as were attempts to reach Yager’s office.
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