Truck Driver Arrested for DUI Following Tuesday Crash in Casper
The man who was behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer and hit four vehicles Tuesday evening at a Casper intersection, injuring multiple people, was highly intoxicated at the time, police say.
Adrian Villa, 42, was booked into jail on recommended charges of driving while under the influence causing injury and open container in a vehicle. He will likely make his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The crash occurred at 6:43 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of First and Poplar Streets. An eastbound semi-trailer evidently hit the rear of a Ford pickup truck which was stopped, pushing the pickup into two vehicles ahead of it and one vehicle to the left.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Villa was taken by ambulance to Wyoming Medical Center following the crash. Police found an open bottle of Fireball Whiskey on the dashboard of Villa's truck; the bottle was roughly two-thirds empty.
Before being taken from the scene, Villa allegedly admitted that he consumed "a couple shooters" prior to the crash. He said he did not know what had happened and believed that he had fallen asleep.
Saying that he did not remember hitting four vehicles, he said he had started drinking at 3 p.m. in Billings, Montana and took his last drink at about 5 p.m. He admitted that he had been drinking from the bottle of Fireball which had been found inside the truck.
Villa also said that he had been taking eight medications for an undisclosed condition. He did not know what state or town he was in as he spoke with police.
Villa further told police that he had been charged with DUI roughly four months ago. He provided an officer with a temporary driver's license paperwork.
Medical personnel later advised police that Villa's blood-alcohol content was .364, roughly four and a half times the legal limit to drive.
At the time the affidavit was written, officers knew of three crash victims who were being treated in the emergency room. One victim was diagnosed with minor fractures to her vertebra.