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Michigan lawmaker arrested for drunken driving was swerving: Report

Posted at 4:44 PM, Nov 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-20 16:44:47-05

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A police report says a northern Michigan lawmaker arrested for drunken driving was speeding, swerving and driving with an open bottle of whiskey in his pickup truck.

The Detroit Free Press reports Friday Democratic Rep. John Kivela of Marquette’s blood-alcohol level was about three times the legal limit after a Clinton County sheriff’s deputy stopped him Nov. 9 near Lansing.

The report obtained by the newspaper says he was driving 80 mph in a 70 mph zone and swerving across lanes on U.S. 127. A deputy says Kivela was confused about how he got there but said he was a lawmaker en route to Lansing.

Kivela’s spokesman Joshua Pugh said in a statement the second-term lawmaker has entered treatment “and is focused on getting better, not looking back.” Kivela apologized in an earlier statement and said he was seeking treatment for alcoholism.