LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – An 18-year-old man named Austin Emry Harper was arrested early Thursday morning after Lewisburg police say he was driving under the influence of alcohol with three underage passengers in his vehicle.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Lewisburg Police Department, the incident occurred around 1 a.m. on June 26, when an officer observed a white Ford Focus traveling north on Jefferson Street without proper rear registration plate illumination. The officer also noted the vehicle swerving within its lane of travel.
The officer initiated a traffic stop, activating his cruiser’s blue emergency lights. The vehicle came to a stop on the eastbound on-ramp to Interstate 64. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer made contact with the driver, later identified as Austin Emry Harper, 18, of West Virginia.
Harper told the officer he had not been paying attention to the road when asked about the swerving. He identified himself as 18 years old and said his three passengers were all 16 years old.
According to the complaint, once Harper stepped out of the vehicle, the officer detected the odor of alcohol. Harper initially denied drinking, but after being confronted with the smell, admitted to having consumed “one Twisted Tea” and confirmed that there was an open can, along with three unopened alcoholic beverages inside the vehicle.
A preliminary breath test conducted with a field sobriety test device showed Harper’s blood alcohol content at 0.046%. Under West Virginia law, drivers under the age of 21 are subject to a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol consumption, and any measurable BAC over 0.02% can result in DUI charges.
Harper then performed a series of standard field sobriety tests, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn and one-leg stand tests, all of which reportedly showed signs of impairment, according to police.
After failing the tests, Harper was placed in handcuffs and secured in the back of the patrol vehicle while officers interviewed the three female passengers individually. Their identities were protected in the report, identified only by initials.
All three girls voluntarily submitted to breath tests and registered a BAC of 0.000%, indicating no alcohol consumption.
The vehicle was subsequently towed. Harper was transported to the Lewisburg Police Department for further processing, where he was read the West Virginia Implied Consent law. A second breath test was administered using an Intoximeter, showing a BAC of 0.038%.
Harper was charged with driving under the influence with minors in the vehicle, a misdemeanor offense with enhanced penalties due to the presence of underage passengers and contributing to the delinquency of a minor based on police allegations that he had invited the teens out after curfew and placed them in a potentially dangerous situation.
He was later transported to the Southern Regional Jail pending arraignment in Greenbrier County Magistrate Court. As of Thursday evening, no bond information had been released.
The Lewisburg Police Department has not released further details and the case remains under investigation.
