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A crash in Cody last month left an e-bike rider injured — and facing a charge of drunk driving.
Authorities have yet to determine who was at fault in the Oct. 17 collision between the e-bike …
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A crash in Cody last month left an e-bike rider injured — and facing a charge of drunk driving.
Authorities have yet to determine who was at fault in the Oct. 17 collision between the e-bike and an SUV, but they quickly concluded that the e-bike rider was impaired: The Wyoming Highway Patrol issued a misdemeanor DUI citation to Denis Mason, a Cody resident who turns 58 this year.
Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric said it’s his office’s first DUI prosecution involving an e-bike. Though bicycles, electric bicycles and motorized skateboards are not considered to be “motor vehicles” under Wyoming law, the state’s DUI statutes apply to all vehicles, which are defined as “every device, in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway …”
If found guilty of the DUI charge, Mason would face a minimum of 30 days in jail, as authorities say it would be his third conviction in the last decade.
While charging documents contain few details about the crash, they say it occurred around 6:41 p.m. on Oct. 17 at the intersection of Cody’s 19th Street and Sheridan Avenue.
In a sworn statement, Trooper Tarleton Capelli of the Wyoming Highway Patrol said he responded and found Mason lying on the ground with a laceration to his head. The trooper said he had Mason lie on his side to await medical treatment and immediately smelled alcohol; additionally, Capelli said that Mason’s speech was “labored and slurred.”
Mason was taken to Cody Regional Hospital for treatment. While there, he reportedly agreed to provide a blood sample for chemical testing, but the test results — which can take time to process — are not included in the charging document.
Capelli wrote in the Oct. 17 statement that he hadn’t determined “who was at fault” in the crash. A patrol spokesman told the Tribune last week that the incident “is still under investigation.”
Due to the injuries he suffered in the crash, Mason was not arrested on the DUI allegation. He has instead been ordered to appear in Park County Circuit Court on Dec. 1.
