Arkansas State Police arrested William Asa Hutchinson III on Jan. 24, Sunday, after William got involved in a single-vehicular accident on the Interstate 49 southbound exit ramp to the Fulbright Expressway in Fayetteville. William was driving his car when it hit a guardrail on the highway. The authorities charged him with driving while intoxicated and two other charges, as per records from the Washington County Detention Center.
KFSM 5NEWS reported on Monday that after being notified, the state troopers investigated the incident, upon which they tried but failed to get a sobriety test from the 40-year-old son of Governor Asa Hutchinson. The authorities said that they noticed William showing physical signs of alcohol drinking over the legal limit, including slurry speech and bloodshot eyes when he was being interviewed, KSFM noted, citing arrest reports from the police.
Police reports also stated that William told the police that he fell asleep while driving on his way to Rogers. The police inquired of his plans of traveling southbound, but William answered that he was going northbound, KSFM noted.
The authorities arrested William on Sunday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated, careless driving and implied consent violation, the Arkansas Times online reported. He paid the $935 bond and was thereby released.
William was required by the authorities to appear at the Fayetteville District Court on Feb. 22, KY3 noted. A spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that the official was not available for comment as of the release of news reports.
The state of Arkansas mandates that driving under the influence or DUI, and DWI first-offense violations should have the driver's license suspended for six months, apart from detention of at least 24 hours up to one year, and paying a penalty ranging from $150 to $1,000. Succeeding offenses can land a jail term of up to six years, penalties of up to $5,000 and suspension of licenses of up to four years, within the lookback period of five years from the first offense.
