A Benton County Road Department worker on Monday (Aug. 19) was suspended for one week without pay after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in a county vehicle.
In addition to the one-week suspension, Wayne Leroy Lowe is prohibited from taking a county vehicle home and is being enrolled in an alcohol-abuse program, said Bob Clinard, county judge.
The one-week suspension will cost Lowe, a paving machine operator, $700.50 in pay, officials said.
Lowe, 46, was arrested Aug. 16 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, driving left of center, having no proof of insurance, littering and careless driving, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office website. All potential charges are misdemeanors. Lowe was released Friday morning from the Washington County Detention Center on a $1,365 bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Lowe was traveling westbound on Drake Street in Fayetteville when an officer witnessed him driving left of center and throwing a cigarette out of his window, according to a preliminary report from Fayetteville District Court. Lowe failed sobriety tests given by the officer and was arrested at the scene, the report states.
Lowe’s blood-alcohol level was later registered at 0.14 percent, the report states.
The road department vehicle had to be picked up later. Officials said Lowe’s 12-year-old son recently died of complications from multiple sclerosis.
Three road department supervisors have lost their jobs this month, stemming from a corruption investigation alleging the men used county funds for personal use. Read more here about that investigation.
