Pol's Alleged Words After Arrest: 'You Know How Women Drive'

Tow truck driver says lawmaker Brian Kolb tried to blame crash on wife
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2020 7:33 AM CST
AAA Driver: Lawmaker Accused of DWI Tried to Blame Wife
Brian Kolb.   (Ontario County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)

A New York state lawmaker arrested after a New Year's Eve car accident and accused of driving while intoxicated tried to pin the blame on his wife, according to the tow truck driver who came to assist. The AAA driver, who the New York Post notes didn't ID Kolb by name, said in his sworn witness statement that when he arrived at the scene of the accident in Ontario County's Victor at around 9:50pm on Dec. 31, he saw Assemblyman Brian Kolb's state-owned GMC Acadia in a ditch. The driver's side door was open and a "white male" was leaning against the SUV, per court papers cited by USA Today and the Post. "The male stood up and put his hands up and said, 'My wife was driving!'" Michael Scoville said. "He then said, 'You know how women drive.'" Scoville added: "I did not see anyone else around the vehicle" and said the man referred to his wife being "up in the house."

Scoville says he then called police, as the car had hit a utility pole guy wire. An Ontario County Sheriff’s deputy who arrived on the scene said Kolb had "glassy bloodshot eyes, slurred speech [and the] strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath," was "unsteady on his feet," and admitted to having driven the car, per court documents. Kolb, 67, who the deputy said also noted he'd had four or five cocktails at a nearby restaurant, is due in court Thursday. Breathalyzer records show he later registered a 0.16% BAC, twice the state's legal limit. Just days earlier, he'd written an op-ed decrying driving while under the influence. On Tuesday, Kolb's GOP colleagues in the state Assembly unanimously chose his successor as minority leader after Kolb resigned from that post, though he will keep his Assembly seat. (More driving under the influence stories.)

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