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Man faces impaired driving charges after he, children found walking on county road

Donald Barron (Photo Provided/Sullivan County Jail)

FARMERSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — A man could face charges of impaired driving, neglect of a dependent, and driving while suspended after he and three children flagged down an Indiana State Police sergeant while walking along a Sullivan County Road on Thursday.

Donald F. Barron, 30, of Farmersburg, was walking with three “young” children about 2:15 p.m. Thursday near County Road 900 North and County Road 200 East. That’s about 2 miles south of Farmersburg. Barron told Sgt. Kris Fitzgerald that they were walking home to Farmersburg after his vehicle became stuck, according to a news release issued Friday from state police. The sergeant took Barron and the children into his “commission” while they went to Barron’s vehicle, and that’s when Fitzgerald noticed Barron showed signed of impairment.

Barron failed several field sobriety tests, and had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15. In Indiana, a driver with a blood-alcohol count of 0.08 is considered to be impaired.

Barron was taken to the Sullivan County jail while the three children were turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services. The release did not describe the relationship between Barron and the children; their ages ranged from 6 to 11.

No online court records were available for Barron on Friday, so it’s uncertain whether he has been formally charged.