Coors sorry for driving drunk
'I made a mistake' by getting behind wheel after wedding, brewer says
Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News
Published July 14, 2006 at midnight
Beer baron Pete Coors apologized Thursday for driving home drunk from a friend's wedding two months ago.
"I made a mistake by driving myself home after a friend's wedding celebration," the onetime U.S. Senate candidate said in a written statement.
"I should have planned ahead for a ride.
"For years I've advocated the responsible use of our company's products. That's still my message and our company's message, and it's the right message. I am sorry that I didn't follow it myself."
Coors, 59, was driving the same route he takes home every day from work when a state trooper turned on his overhead lights and followed Coors into his driveway on May 28.
He and his wife, Marilyn, were returning to their Golden home from the Denver reception. Coors was behind the wheel of his green Jaguar.
The trooper said Coors had rolled through a stop sign at the intersection of North McIntyre Street and West 32nd Avenue, one block from his home and near his world-famous brewery.
Coors was arrested and taken to the Golden Police Department, where he voluntarily agreed to a Breathalyzer test. He registered a 0.088 percent blood-alcohol concentration, according to Kabira Hatland, a spokeswoman for Coors Brewing Co.
He was cited for driving under the influence and failing to stop at a stop sign, court records say.
He is scheduled for a motor-vehicle hearing today and a court date next week.
Two years ago, Coors would have been considered impaired, not under the influence, at the level his breath tested. Before 2004, only drivers registering a BAC of 0.1 percent or higher were cited for driving under the influence.
Colorado law has since changed to say that a driver with a blood-alcohol content of between 0.05 percent and 0.07 percent is presumed to be impaired. A driver with a BAC of 0.08 percent or greater is presumed to be driving under the influence.
Bruce Benson, a Republican leader who disclosed during his bid for governor in the 1990s that he was stopped twice for drunken driving, said he learned of Coors' arrest on Thursday.
Benson said he hadn't spoken to Coors, a friend of his.
"I just think this is one of those things you take in stride," Benson said. "You just have to keep going.
"People still admire and respect him, and they're going to keep doing that. . . . Everything will work out. I'm really sorry to see this happen."
langbeins@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2536
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