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Police report reveals details of State Rep. Jim Lucas’ arrest

Republican Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas was arrested on May 31, 2023, near Seymour for drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident, Indiana State Police confirm. (Provided Photo/Jackson County Sheriff's Office)

SEYMOUR, Ind. (WISH) — State Rep Jim Lucas told police he “swerved to miss a deer and lost control of his vehicle” before he was arrested early Wednesday for driving drunk and leaving the scene of an accident, according to a crash report obtained by News 8.

A crash report issued by Indiana State Police says officers responded to a report of a vehicle that struck a guardrail and was driving the wrong way on the ramp to I-65 from State Road 11 near Seymour.

State police say Lucas’ pickup truck went down a hill through a guard rail on I-65 and then across traffic lanes before he crashed.

Damage to the vehicle caused three of the truck’s tires to go flat. The report says Lucas drove on rims for nearly three miles before pulling up behind a Seymour carpet store. Seymour police found him there and noted the smell of alcohol.

Lucas told police he parked behind the carpet store because “he did not want to leak oil in the front parking lot of the business” due to concerns that a dirty parking lot would cause the business to lose customers.

A state trooper gave Lucas a field sobriety test, after which he was arrested and taken to the Jackson County Jail.

A diagram that shows the accident on State Road 11, (Provided Photo/Indiana State Police crash report)

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