The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Deputy Commissioner faces DUI and failure to maintain charges in a Sunday night crash in Jasper County, officials said.
Authorities found nine bottles of moonshine in the black 2015 Chevrolet Corvette that Walter Hyman Rabon crashed on Ga. 11 northbound, according to a Georgia State Patrol incident report.
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Rabon, 48, of Mansfield, told GSP he was swerved to avoid a deer, when he spun counterclockwise and landed in a ditch. A passenger inside the vehicle was not injured, the report states.
Rabon said he was traveling 55 mph at the time of the crash.
A Japser County Sheriff’s deputy, who responded to the scene, told the GSP Rabon’s breath reeked of alcohol.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
During the arrest, officials said a bloodshot, watery-eyed Rabon struggled to find his driver’s license and wasn’t wearing any shoes.
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A GSP Trooper searched the car and found nine bottles of moonshine, five of which were broken during the crash, according to the report. Rabon admitted to officials that he knew the bottles were in the car, but said they were not his.
Rabon at first told authorities he had one drink at his home, but soon after said he had two drinks just 30 minutes before the crash, according to the report.
During field sobriety tests, officials wrote in the report that Rabon was “very sluggish” when responding to questions, struggled to keep his balance and blew a. 146 on a breathalyzer test — nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
Rabon was taken to the Jasper County jail.
He has been placed on administrative leave by the DNR, Channel 2 Action News reported. Rabon has been with the DNR since 1993, when he first started as a conservation ranger. He became deputy commissioner in February 2015.
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