Verifier of Facts: Beto O 'Rourke falsely claimed that he had not tried to leave the premises

Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post

published

06:32 PDT, Tuesday 25 September 2018

"I have not tried to leave the scene of the accident, although driving while impaired, what I've done, is a terrible mistake for which there is no excuse, justification or defense, and I will not try to do it. "

–Representative. Beto O. Rourke, D-Texas, Senate candidate, during a debate on February 21

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During a debate with his rival, Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, O. Rourke was questioned about an incident of impaired driving at the age of 26. years: did he try to leave the scene of the accident? The Chronicle House and San Antonio Express-News had recently obtained police reports of the incident and had said they had done so.

O & # 39; Rourke responded with what seemed like a handy answer. He categorically denied attempting to leave the scene of the accident but added that his arrest at the wheel was a "terrible mistake" and that he would provide no excuse. He then reflected on the importance of second chances.

Cruz, for his part, said he would not discuss the issue, but turned to a discussion on sponsorship of a resolution by O. Rourke in 2009 to debate the legalization of while he was a member of the El Paso City Council. Interestingly, Cruz appeared to try to argue his point of view. He had previously obtained a "fake" from PolitiFact Texas for stating that the resolution was aimed at legalizing all narcotics, rather than just debating the issue.

O. Rourke's claim that he did not attempt to leave the scene of the accident is however disputed by police records. It is therefore a factual verification.

On September 27, 1998, at around 3 am, in Anthony, Texas, a suburb 20 miles north of El Paso on the New Mexico border, police officer Richard Carrera was sent to a motor vehicle accident. near Interstate-10.

He met the driver, identified as Robert Francis O'Rourke, and asked him what had happened: "The accused advised that he had caused an accident," writes Carrera in his complaint. .

In another report from the archives, filed with the Texas Department of Public Security, Carrera wrote that "the defendant was unable to make himself understood because of speech disorders" and that he had the "bright eyes" and "the smell of alcohol". When Carrera asked O 'Rourke to exit the vehicle, he was "almost fallen down" and was repeatedly unable to pass a resistance test on one leg. He "failed by totally losing his balance".

When O & # 39; Rourke blew into a breathalyzer, the results were an alcohol concentration in the blood (BAC) of 0.136 and 0.134. The legal limit of the state in Texas at the time was 0.10; a year later, it was lowered to 0.08. With a blood alcohol level between 0.130 and 0.159, a person experiences: "Severe motor impairment and lack of physical control." Blurred vision and major loss of balance. • Reduced euphoria and Dysphoria Primer For a 190-pound man, the weight of O. Rourke stated in the police report, this alcohol level is reached after six drinks.

The birthday of O 'Rourke is September 26th, so he had this accident on the night of his 26th birthday. He registered his job as a salesman. (He had just returned from New York to El Paso and was starting an internet service company.)

In his interview with DWI, O & # Rourke said he had eaten for the last time at 7pm. – pasta – and drank two beers. He also mentioned that he had had a cold earlier.

The accident had been observed by a witness. He told Carrera that O & # Rourke, driving a Volvo, had passed him a high speed rate in an area of ​​75 mph, then lost control and "had hit a truck rolling in the same direction. " O 's car Rourke then crossed the large median of the grassy center and stopped.

"The defendant / driver then tried to leave," Carrera reported. "The reporter then turned on his position lights to warn oncoming traffic and try to arrest the defendant."

Similar information appears in another document, the report of incident and crime: "The driver tried to leave the accident but was arrested by the reporter".

There are inconsistencies in police records – the Volvo O 'Rourke is described as being both black and green and he travels either to the west or east – but the witness who saw the crash crash. The witness is not identified. We were unable to locate Carrera for further comments.

The charges were dismissed after O & # Rourke, whose father had been a local judge, completed a court-approved diversion program, the Chronicle said.

A campaign spokesperson O & # 39; Rourke did not respond to e-mails or text messages.

At The Fact Checker, we place great value on contemporary recordings. Police reports show not only that O 'Rourke was very intoxicated, but that an accident witness stated that he had attempted to leave the scene.

O 'Rourke was so drunk that he could barely get out of the car without falling, so he might not have been far away – or he was just confused. O 'Rourke may think he did not try to leave. But, given his blood alcohol level at the time of the accident, the memory of O 'Rourke 20 years after the fact is not as credible as the police report writes just hours after the accident.

O & # r; Rourke could have avoided the question during the debate or he could have said that his memory was unclear for that night. Instead, he chose to challenge the factual record. We also believe in second chances and O & # 39; Rourke should review his answer if given another opportunity. In the meantime, he wins four Pinocchios.