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State Rep. Jim Lucas arrested for driving while intoxicated, leaving scene of crash

Representative Jim Lucas holds up a small booklet while speaking on the floor of the Indiana House of Representatives. Lucas is a white man with a greying beard and short hair. He wears a blue tie and navy suit, standing at a lectern in, speaking into a microphone. There is dark wood paneling on the wall behind him, with several blue chairs pushed against a stone and wood bench.
Lauren Chapman
/
IPB News
Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) was arrested by Indiana State Police for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a crash.

Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) was booked into a southern Indiana county jail early Wednesday morning for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Indiana State Police arrested the Republican after he allegedly crashed his vehicle on Interstate 65 and drove off.

A state police spokesperson said Lucas’s vehicle was found by Seymour police shortly after the crash. Lucas was located nearby and arrested by state police and booked into the Jackson County Jail for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a crash that caused property damage.

The most serious of those charges would be a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail and $5,000 fine.

READ MORE: State Rep Jim Lucas quotes Nazi propagandist in Facebook photo

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Lucas is in his fifth term as a state lawmaker. He is considered one of the legislature’s most strident advocates to reduce or eliminate gun regulations and has pushed Indiana to legalize cannabis.

Lucas has repeatedly courted controversy in his time at the Statehouse, notably for racist social media posts.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.