US Airways CEO stopped for DUI on night of failed deal
Scottsdale, Ariz. — US Airways chief executive Doug Parker was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving just hours after his airline’s $9.8 billion bid for Delta Air Lines was rejected last week, police said.
Parker, 45, was pulled over at 11:30 p.m. Jan. 31 after leaving a nightly party at the FBR Open golf tournament in Scottsdale, police Sgt. Mark Clark said.
Parker was pulled over for driving 20 mph over the posted speed limit of 45 mph. According to a police report, Parker told police he had three beers during a two hour period. After taking roadside sobriety tests he was arrested and taken to a DUI task force post for booking and to have blood drawn for an alcohol-level test. Those results are not yet available.
Parker was not immediately available for comment Friday, but vice president of communications Elise Eberwein said late Thursday he “is embarassed beyond words and knows more is expected of him.”
Eberwein said Parker expects the blood tests will show he was not legally drunk at the time of the arrest. She said he was taking taking two friends home who had had too much to drink.
“Knowing Doug, I do know he would not get behind the wheel of a car if he felt too impaired to drive,” Eberwein said.
Spokeswoman Andrea Rader said the company may have further comment later Friday.
US Airways made a hostile bid for bankrupt Delta on Nov. 15. US Airways later raised its bid by nearly 20 percent in hopes of swaying Delta’s official committee of unsecured creditors.
But the creditors rejected the offer on Jan. 31, and Parker pulled the bid within minutes of being informed of the move.
Information from
East Valley Tribune/Scottsdale Tribune
http://www.aztrib.com
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