Politics

WITNESS: Beto Tried To Flee Drunk Driving Scene After Causing High-Speed Crash

Screenshot/Youtube and Getty Images

Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-Texas) drunk driving accident in 1998 has long been public knowledge, but a local outlet has discovered new harrowing details.

O’Rourke is running as the Democrat candidate to unseat Republican Sen.Ted Cruz in 2018.

The Houston Chronicle obtained police records from the scene of the crash in 1998 which, show O’Rourke with a blood alcohol level of .136. O’Rourke was recorded in the police report to be traveling at a “high rate of speed” before he careened his car into the median of an interstate near the New Mexico border.

A witness at the scene of the crash said O’Rourke attempted to flee the scene of the crime in his car after the accident. The crash occurred when O’Rourke was 26, and he has expressed remorse for the incident. The incident has come to light as the Texas GOP attacked O’Rourke with a photo of his mugshot.

“I drove drunk and was arrested for a DWI in 1998,” the congressman said in a statement, adding, “As I’ve publicly discussed over the last 20 years, I made a serious mistake for which there is no excuse.”