PROVO -- Utah County Commissioner David Gardner recognizes his version of the events Monday that led to his arrest on drunken driving charges sounds like a tall tale.
But he's sticking with his story.Gardner told the Deseret News he was given a Breathalyzer test by a sheriff's deputy and it registered .09. The legal blood-alcohol limit is .08.
The commissioner said he failed the test because he accepted a drink from a hitchhiker he picked up just before the accident occurred. He also told the newspaper he may have failed the tests because he's had a gastric bypass operation, which left him with a 2-ounce stomach and an extremely low tolerance and absorption rate of alcohol.
Gardner was accused of driving under the influence Monday night, leading to a car fire that allegedly started a field ablaze in a rural area west of Spanish Fork.
A trooper said the odor of alcohol was so strong on Gardner that he could smell it "even over the burned wood smell," a Utah Highway Patrol report states.
Gardner said that's because the hitchhiker spilled his drink in the car just before Gardner dropped him off. He said he picked up the disheveled man about 4:30 p.m. in Provo as he left town for a 6:30 p.m. meeting in Salem. The accident and car fire occurred about two hours later.
The UHP report indicates Gardner originally told troopers he'd drunk two ounces of vodka with lunch at 2:30 p.m. He later told troopers about the drink from the hitchhiker and said it was the only drink he'd had all day, the report states.
Trooper Dennis Bang, who is a drug recognition expert, described Gardner as "relaxed" and "very cooperative" during several field sobriety tests that Gardner failed.
Bang asked Gardner to follow the tip of the pen with his eyes and said he could not do so without a delay in eye tracking, the report states. "I asked Mr. Gardner to touch the top of the pen with his finger. He missed the top of the pen and hit the side of it."
Bang said Gardner could not touch the tip of his nose with the tip of his finger and his speech was slow and slurred. Balance tests were not asked of Gardner because his feet were blistered and burned from attempts to stomp out a brush fire.
"In my opinion, Mr. Gardner was under the influence of alcohol and not able to operate a motor vehicle safely," Bang said in his statement.
Police say Gardner drove off the rural road near 1450 W. 5000 South and punctured his gas tank, which ignited a brush fire. He then attempted to stomp out the flames, incurring some blisters to his feet.
After dousing the flames, he drove about a mile and flagged down a farmer for help.
A number of Natural Light beer cans were also found at the scene, about 30 feet from the actual fire, UHP Lt. Verdi White II said. The beer cans appeared to be "fresh."
Kay Hansen, who lives at 1738 W. 5000 South, told police he saw Gardner run off the road and start the fire. He then noticed the 1989 Lincoln had a fire under the hood.
But Gardner said his car did not start the fire but caught on fire when he stopped to put out the blaze he noticed while driving along 1450 West. The fire, he said, was burning in the weeds on the lot of an abandoned, unfinished home.
While retracing his steps at the scene for the Deseret News Tuesday, Gardner described how he stopped and tried to stomp out the fire, melting his shoes and his pants and singeing his hair and eyebrow. When that effort failed, he said, he drove his car onto the lot to provide a kind of firebreak.
Rebar, metal fence posts and barbed wire on the property may have damaged the tank, he said.
The commissioner said he then drove to a nearby feed lot and a farmer's house to get help. Employees at the Ottesen Feed Lot say they remember Gardner driving up to flag them for help.
"He was pretty stupid but didn't seem drunk," one worker said.
Results are not back yet from blood and urine tests drawn on Gardner at Mountain View Hospital in Payson, where Gardner was treated for the burns. The results are expected to be available within a week.
Gardner said he is still hoping for a dismissal of the DUI charge because he believes he simply made a couple of stupid decisions.
"I'll probably lose my wife, my family, my house, for one moment of stupidity," he said. "The moral of this story is don't pick up any hitchhikers and let the house burn down."
The summons issued to him at the Payson hospital requires he respond in court in no less than five days and within no more than 14 days. The investigation has been turned over to the county attorney, who may ship the matter to another venue since the case involves a commissioner.
Fellow commissioners Jerry Grover and Gary Herbert expressed sympathy for Gardner's plight.
Grover said in this conservative voting area the arrest will be regarded as significant. Herbert said the commission will continue to do its work and he expects Gardner will do his share.
"It sounds like kind of a personal problem to me," he said.
Utah County Republican Party Chairman Rod Fudge said it's too soon to draw any real conclusions.
"We're still in the digestion mode, still waiting for facts and information," he said.
But even if Gardner is found to be guilty, Fudge said he doesn't believe that would be enough cause to push for a resignation.
"We all make mistakes and we're talking about perhaps an isolated incident against a pattern of 20 years. Dave Gardner has been a superb commissioner. I think that was reflected in the landslide victory he enjoyed in November. He has wide support and this has nothing to do with wrongdoing on the job.
"This is a very personal thing," Fudge said.
Gardner was an LDS bishop at the time he decided to run for county commission in 1994. He is a licensed hypnotherapist and marriage/family therapist who sold a thriving private practice to run for the commission.
He's in the first year of his second term in office. Gardner has previously said he does not plan to run for re-election in 2002.