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Scottsdale police arrest Doug Parker
February 9, 2007
By NICK MARTIN
TRIBUNE
Just hours after losing a $10 billion bid to take over Delta Air Lines last week, US Airways' top executive Doug Parker was arrested in Scottsdale on suspicion of drunken driving.
The CEO of the Tempe-based airline was clocked in his black BMW at 65 mph -- 20 miles faster than the posted speed limit -- on Jan. 31 at Pima Road just south of Bell Road, according to a police report.
Publication info
This story originally ran Feb. 9, 2007 in the East Valley Tribune in Arizona.
Parker told the officer who pulled him over that he was coming from the Birds Nest, a nightly party at the FBR Open golf tournament, where he told police he downed three beers in two hours, according to the report. Two passengers were with him.
A US Airways spokeswoman told the Tribune late Thursday the 45-year-old executive, whose given name is William Douglas Parker, was giving friends a ride after they had too much to drink. Parker declined to comment. But the spokeswoman, Elise Eberwein, said she talked to him about the arrest.
Eberwein said Parker told her he "is embarrassed beyond words and knows more is expected of him."
"Knowing Doug, I do know he would not get behind the wheel of a car if he felt too impaired to drive," she added.
During the 11:30 p.m. traffic stop that night, the officer’s report noted Parker had watery eyes, alcohol on his breath and slurred speech. Eberwein said the description "shocked and mortified" Parker.
Parker went through roadside sobriety tests before the officer took him to a nearby outpost to draw his blood and officially book him.
Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark said Parker was released and sent home in a taxi, a normal procedure during DUI crackdowns.
The arrest means Parker’s blood-alcohol level is believed to have been above the legal limit of .08.
Just how much alcohol was in Parker's system will be determined when a crime lab tests his blood, Clark said.
Those results were not available late Thursday when police confirmed the arrest, which Clark said took place without incident.
Parker told Eberwein he believes the results will show his blood-alcohol level was below the limit, she said.
In November, Parker and US Airways made their first moves to acquire Delta, which is in bankruptcy.
The merger would have created the nation’s largest carrier. Delta fought off the deal and convinced its creditors not to cave to US Airways.
Parker, a Paradise Valley resident, has been CEO of US Airways since 2005. He was CEO of America West Airlines before it merged with US Airways.
If convicted, Parker could be ordered to pay a $500 fine, spend from one to 10 days in jail, lose his driver's license for 30 days and be put on probation for five years.