A longtime member of the Center Township Advisory Board was arrested on misdemeanor charges of drunken driving on Saturday after driving his pickup truck into a creek near his home, according to a police report.
Stephen R. Buck, 73, of Valparaiso, has been charged with two Class A misdemeanors, operating a vehicle with an alcohol equivalent of .15% or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person; and a Class C misdemeanor, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to online court records.
Around 7:31 p.m. on Oct. 19, deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department were called to the 200 block of Turnberry Court for a disabled vehicle stuck in the creek.
Police found a 2016 GMC Canyon pickup truck partially submerged in the creek. The truck was facing northeast and appeared to have gone the wrong way in a small cul-de-sac before going off the road, according to the report. Police found personal belongings, including Buck’s wallet with his driver’s license, inside the truck, and said his residence was about four houses away from where the truck was located.
Police went to Buck’s residence and observed muddy handprints on the passenger side of a vehicle in the driveway and “observed mud on the floors, and mud along the wall of the residence leading down the hallway, to where (Buck) would later emerge from.”
The relative who answered the door for the police said they were on their way home and passed the truck in the ditch and realized it must be Buck’s when he wasn’t home. The relative went back to the scene and found Buck “in the water attempting to get out,” but was unable to help so called another relative for assistance. The second relative, police said, was able to get Buck out of the water and into their vehicle.
Buck, who was in the shower when police arrived, allegedly told them he “dumped” his truck in Morgan Township. Buck told police he was drinking wine at his restaurant, Lincoln Flats, and then went to a bar near his home for a Johnny Walker Black, according to the report.
Buck’s blood-alcohol content was .163%, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08%, according to police. During transport to the Porter County Jail, Buck allegedly told police, “I (expletive) up, I know that,” according to the report.
Buck, a Republican, has served as an advisory board member for more than 20 years, according to his biography on the Center Township Trustee Office’s website, and was on the Valparaiso School Board for nine years.
Center Township Trustee Jesse Harper and Michael Simpson, chair of the Porter County Republican Party, both declined to comment on Buck’s arrest.
Online court records did not reflect an initial hearing date Monday afternoon. Buck booked out of jail, according to online jail records.
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
