CEO Guilty Of DUI Had Three Times Legal Limit After Crash -Police
15 9월 2010 - 5:19AM
Dow Jones News
Louis Lower, the insurance company chief executive who pled
guilty to drunk driving in Florida last week, had "difficulty
standing," was "swaying in all directions" and later fell to the
ground as police investigated the May 29 car crash that led to his
arrest, according to police records.
Lower, the chief executive of Horace Mann Educators Corp. (HMN),
refused to take a field sobriety test or submit to a police
breathalyzer after he drove on the wrong side of the road and
crashed head-on into another car in Vero Beach, Fla., according to
the police file. He insisted instead on having a lawyer present.
When police obtained a search warrant from a judge to test his
blood more than three hours later, a laboratory found he had a
blood-alcohol content of .21--nearly three times the legal
limit.
Lower struck the vehicle after a "sudden swerve," causing about
$30,000 worth of damage to the two vehicles, according to the
report. Neither person in the other car reported injuries at the
scene.
At the scene, police said Lower initially had a "blank stare,"
and smelled strongly of alcohol. Later, "Lower lost his balance and
fell against his vehicle and then on the ground."
Lower's arrest came to light late Monday, when the board of
directors at Horace Mann announced they were placing him on leave
after he was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Horace Mann, based in
Springfield, Ill., sells auto, home and life insurance to
teachers.
Lower had told some company executives about his arrest in
mid-July, but the board was first notified of the incident after he
was convicted and put in jail on Sept. 8, a company spokesman said
Monday.
Lower is scheduled to be released on Oct. 26, according to the
Indian River County website. In a statement whose title referred to
a "situation involving" its CEO, the insurer said Monday that the
board was considering whether to impose further disciplinary
actions on Lower.
Still, the statement said, he is expected to return to his job
in late October or November. Chief Financial Officer Peter Heckman
will serve as interim chief executive.
"There are no excuses to offer other than a lapse of personal
character for which I take full responsibility," Lower said in the
statement. The statement said it was Lower's first offense.
Lower has been Horace Mann's chief executive since 2000. He was
previously chief executive of Allstate Corp's (ALL) life insurance
operation, and serves as a board member of mortgage insurer PMI
Group Inc. (PMI). Bill Horning, a spokesman for PMI, didn't respond
to several phone calls and voicemail messages seeking comment.
Horace Mann shares were down 0.8% to $17.63 in afternoon
trading, after earlier falling to as low as $16.92.
-By Erik Holm, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2892;
erik.holm@dowjones.com
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