KEPR anchor Terry Chick, the man voted most popular news anchor by Tri-City Herald readers three years in a row, has been arrested for DUI and hit and run.
According to the Herald, witnesses say the Pasco, Wash. CBS affiliate anchor was dancing and drinking at a bar and was told not to drive home. He did it anyway, yelling a profanity at the group before getting into his car, backing into a parked truck and driving away.
The station posted the news on its website saying it was “shocked” adding, “But we wanted you, the viewers, who we think of as family, to be aware of this sad news and to explain why Terry is currently off the air.”
A Kennewick officer followed a Mazda driven by Chick after a witness reported seeing the car crash into a truck and leave the scene of the collision, according to court documents.
The Mazda — which had a broken tail light — apparently was swerving on Highway 240.
“I immediately noticed the obvious signs of impairment,” the officer wrote. “(Chick’s) eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slow and slurred.”
Chick told police he was coming from the Branding Iron in downtown Kennewick and drank five beers throughout the night, court documents said. He first denied there was damage to his car, but when confronted with the broken taillight, he told police the damage was old.
The officer then put Chick through several roadside tests to determine if he was drunk.
Chick’s performance on the tests was consistent with someone who was drunk, the court documents said. He refused to take a breath test at the scene and told officers he would rather give a blood sample. Officers got a warrant and blood was taken at Trios Health.
The Tri-City Herald reports Chick pleaded guilty to drunk driving in 2012 and was placed on five years probation.