NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In addition to criminal charges down in Georgia, state Sen. Ken Yager may also lose his position as Republican Senate Caucus Chairman.
NewsChannel 5 obtained video of Yager taking a field sobriety test in Jekyll Island, Georgia, where he was vacationing at the time. According to Georgia State Police, Yager hit another car and then drove off Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said they noticed alcohol on his breath and he admitted to being involved in the crash.
The 77-year-old Republican from Kingston is charged with driving under the influence, hit and run and failure to stop at a stop sign.
For the last six years, Yager has served as the influential Republican Senate Caucus Chairman. In fact, he was just re-elected to the position last month for the upcoming legislative session. But that run may be coming to an end.
According to the Senate's own rules, a Senate chairman is automatically suspended from their position 10 days after a criminal indictment for as long as the indictment is being actively pursued. Sen. Yager could request a hearing with the Committee on Ethics to fight that suspension.
Yager could also just accept the automatic suspension or voluntarily resign from his chairmanship. It's unclear which path Yager is considering.
For the first time, we are hearing from Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge and speaker of the senate .
"It is my understanding that Senator Yager is cooperating fully with the authorities in Georgia in this matter. My thoughts and prayers are with he and his family as he does so," wrote McNally in a statement.
Yager previously issued NewsChannel 5 a statement calling the incident "unfortunate" and pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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