State trooper arrested for drunken driving after crashing cruiser

Kentucky.com, KY
Associated Press
08/04/06

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. - A Kentucky State Police trooper has been charged with drunken driving after he wrecked a cruiser in eastern Kentucky Friday morning.

Trooper Michael F. Pennington, 29, was off-duty and driving southbound on U.S. 23 at 12:50 a.m. EDT when his 2003 Ford ran off the road and crashed into an embankment, state police in Pikeville said.

Pennington, of London, was working in Floyd County as part of a marijuana-eradication team.

The crash occurred near a Prestonsburg hotel where Pennington and other drug task-force members were staying.

Pennington has been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation, said Sgt. Phil Crumpton, a state police spokesman in Frankfort.

Pennington was taken to the Floyd County Detention Center in Prestonsburg. Jail records show he was arrested at 2:12 a.m. after he registered 0.114 on a Breathalyzer test, which is above Kentucky's legal limit of .08 or above. Pennington was released from custody at 3 a.m.