Tennessee state Sen. Ken Yager has pleaded no contest to driving under the influence seven months after he was charged in Georgia following a crash.
Yager, R-Kingston, pleaded to the DUI charge and saw the dismissal of several other charges, including hit and run, duty of a driver to stop at or return to scene of accident and failure to yield, according to a statement released Aug. 11.
Yager’s district covers Campbell, Clay, Fentress, Macon, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Roane and Scott counties.
As part of the plea agreement, Yager completed 40 hours of community service and DUI school.
“Today, I entered into a plea of no contest to the misdemeanor charge of Driving Under the Influence Less Safe. I take full responsibility for my actions on December 3rd,” Yager said. “Drinking and driving is a very serious matter. It will never happen again.”
A Tennessee senator arrested in Georgia
A Georgia State Trooper arrested Yager at 5:35 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2024 in Glynn County after a bulletin went out in search of a Ford Edge with a Tennessee license plate after a hit-and-run. Finance records showed Yager regularly used his campaign accounts to make lease payments on a Ford.
Yager was vacationing on Jekyll Island at the time.
Troopers found a car that matched that description at Jekyll Market, a grocery store. When they pulled in, paramedics were already on scene treating Yager, who’d tripped and fallen, a spokesperson with the Georgia State Troopers said.
Troopers noticed “a distinct odor of alcohol on his breath,” according to an incident report from the Georgia Department of Public Safety. He admitted that he had been in a crash earlier and had drank “a couple glasses of wine previously in the day,” according to the report.
Yager told troopers that he’d spoken with the driver of the other car and left believing everyone was ok and did not know police were on their way, according to the incident report.
Yager failed a sobriety test and urinated on himself, according to the incident report. When he took a breathalyzer, he blew a 0.14, nearly double the 0.08 limit.
“Throughout both my personal and professional life, I have sought to act with integrity and accountability,” Yager said in his Aug. 11 statement. “On December 3, 2024, I failed to live up to those principles and let my family, friends and constituents down. I sincerely regret my actions and apologize.”
What is a no contest plea?
A no contest plea means Yager does not contest the facts of the case, but also does not plead guilty. He instead takes the punishment with little impact to his driving record.
In Georgia, a driver may plead no contest once every five years for misdemeanor traffic offences. Pleading no contest means a driver won’t have negative points added to their license which could threaten suspension if too many points are accumulated.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager pleads to Georgia DUI, hit-and-run dropped