Tennessee state Senator Ken Yager found himself in legal trouble during his vacation on Jekyll Island. He was arrested and booked into a Georgia jail on Tuesday night. Yager is accused of being involved in a hit and run incident while driving under the influence.
Yager, who hails from Kingston, serves as the Chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus.
According to reports, Yager was driving a Ford Edge when he was arrested. His financial records indicate that he frequently uses his campaign accounts to cover lease payments for a Ford vehicle.
Yager was apprehended by a Georgia state trooper at 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday, as confirmed by an employee at the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office when contacted on Wednesday morning. The arrest took place in Glynn County, situated along the southern coast of Georgia.
According to a statement from his office, Yager was on vacation when he was arrested.
“An unfortunate incident happened last night. On the advice of my attorney, I cannot discuss the particulars at this time. I am and will continue to cooperate fully with authorities to bring this incident to an appropriate conclusion,” Yager said in the statement.
According to a spokesperson from the Georgia State Patrol, state troopers were instructed to be on the lookout for a Ford Edge with Tennessee license plates at 5:01 Tuesday evening. The vehicle is believed to be involved in a hit-and-run incident on Jekyll Island.
Troopers noticed a car that matched the description in the parking lot of Jekyll Market, a gourmet grocery store. At the time, emergency medical services were already on the scene, assessing Yager, who had fallen after tripping.
During the conversation with Yager, troopers detected a noticeable smell of alcohol on his breath, as stated in an incident report from the Georgia Department of Public Safety. Yager openly confessed to being involved in a previous crash and acknowledged having consumed “a couple glasses of wine earlier in the day,” according to the report.
According to the incident report, Yager informed the trooper that he had a conversation with the driver of the other vehicle following the crash. Believing that everyone involved was unharmed, Yager made the decision to leave the scene, unaware that the police were already en route.
During the stop, Yager experienced an unfortunate incident where he accidentally urinated on himself, as mentioned in the incident report. His field sobriety tests did not go well, as he struggled with a one-leg stand and had to cut the tests short due to safety concerns, as stated in the incident report.
According to the incident report, he consented to a breathalyzer test, which showed a breath alcohol content of 0.14. The legal limit for blood alcohol content is 0.08. However, he declined to undergo a blood test.
Yager was taken into custody at the jail but was later released at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. According to an employee from the sheriff’s office, Yager was charged with three separate crimes, namely:
-
- hit and run; duty of driver to stop or return to scene of accident
- failure to stop at a stop sign
- DUI less safe driver
In Georgia, it is possible for individuals to face charges of “DUI less safe” even if their blood alcohol content is below the legal limit of 0.08. This charge is based on a state statute that makes it illegal to operate or be in control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to a degree that compromises safe driving.
Yager’s bond for the hit and run charge was set at $1,500, the highest among the charges. The sheriff’s office employee stated that his bond for the failure to stop charge was set at $467.70, while the bond for the DUI charge was set at $150.
Yager consistently uses campaign funds to cover the lease expenses of a Ford vehicle. Disclosures reveal that since November 2022, he has allocated a total of $22,888 for the vehicle lease, including costs for car insurance, oil and tire maintenance, car washes, detailing, and county vehicle registration fees. The majority of these funds, amounting to $16,615, were directed towards his lease agreement with Jerry Duncan Ford in Harriman. Prior to this, Yager had been making lease payments to a Lincoln dealership.
Lawmakers occasionally pay for a vehicle to use during their campaigns, although it is not a widespread practice. Additionally, they are reimbursed by the state for mileage incurred when traveling to and from the state Capitol for official business.
If Yager is indicted, he must adhere to Senate ethics rules, which mandate that he resign from his post as caucus chair. Alternatively, he can choose to appeal the indictment within 10 days to the Ethics Committee. The committee will then conduct a hearing to determine whether Yager can retain his position while the indictment is ongoing.
Yager represents a district that includes Campbell, Clay, Fentress, Macon, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Roane, and Scott counties.
Before entering politics, he started his professional journey as a teacher. Later on, he held the positions of Roane County attorney from 1978 to 1982, and Roane County executive from 1982 to 2006. In 2006, he successfully ran for the state Senate. Recently, he was reelected as the chair of the Senate Republican Caucus.