Kansas state senator arrested on suspicion of DUI after police find car in ditch

A Kansas state senator was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after his car ended up in a ditch in Topeka, police say.

Topeka police responded to a report of a car in the ditch near I-70 and Southeast Carnahan at 10:58 p.m. Monday. When officers got there, they found a single vehicle that “appeared to be involved in a crash in the ditch,” Topeka Police Lt. Andrew Beightel said in an email.

Inside was Kansas Sen. Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat.

“Officers rushed to the car to render aid,” Beightel said.

The senator was uninjured, but officers “suspected that he might be under the influence,” Beightel said.

“At that point they began working the scene and incident as a suspected DUI case,” Beightel said. “Once officers concluded their investigation Mr. Miller was transported and booked into Shawnee Co. Department of corrections with the charges of DUI and inattentive driving.”

Miller, contacted by phone Tuesday, said he has been advised by his attorney not to comment on the arrest.

A spokesperson for the Shawnee County jail said Miller was booked at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday and released at 2:30 a.m. on $1,000 professional surety bond. The case will be handled by the Topeka Municipal Court, Topeka police Maj. Tim Phelps said.

Miller started his term in the Kansas House in 2017 and then replaced Gov. Laura Kelly in the Senate after she was elected governor. Miller served in the Kansas House from 1979 to 1984 and then the Shawnee County Commission and as a Topeka municipal court judge before returning to the House in 2017.

This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 4:42 PM.