An Indiana state lawmaker crashed his car while intoxicated and fled the scene, police said

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An Indiana state lawmaker crashed his car while intoxicated and fled the scene, police said
Republican Rep. Jim Lucas, left, listens to Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith speak against Lucas' bill, which would make state funding available for teachers seeking firearms training, at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Indianapolis.AP Photo/Arleigh Rodgers
  • An Indiana lawmaker was arrested on Wednesday morning, police told Insider.
  • Police said Rep. Jim Lucas crashed his car and fled the scene.
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An Indiana lawmaker was taken into custody on Wednesday after being accused of crashing his car and leaving the scene, WTHR reported.

Rep. Jim Lucas, 58, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and endangerment, jail records show.

The Republican lawmaker has been serving House District 69 since 2012. His press contact didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Indiana State Police told Insider that Lucas crashed the vehicle on I-65 around midnight. Police said he fled the scene in the vehicle before leaving it on the road, because they found the car and him in different locations nearby.

Records show that Lucas was booked into jail at 3:46 a.m. and was released on $705 bond hours later on Wednesday at 7:53 a.m.

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Police said his toxicology results are pending.

Lucas is not the only public official to get arrested in recent weeks. Police in Connecticut charged state Rep. Robin Comey with operating under the influence earlier this year, WFSB reported.

Comey, a Democrat who's served since 2018, released a statement to WFSB apologizing and saying she would get treatment. A judge ruled her record could be expunged if she completed a treatment program, the Associated Press reported.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg made national headlines in 2020 after he told a 911 dispatcher he thought he hit a deer with his car when he actually hit and killed a man. Ravnsborg ended up serving no jail time and paid a fine for two misdemeanors. In 2022, the South Dakota House impeached him and the state senate convicted him, barring him from office.

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