Delegate Charged In Drunken Boat Crash Speaks Candidly About His Battle With Alcohol
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The state lawmaker involved in a drunken boating accident this summer is speaking to WJZ.
Delegate Don Dwyer says he can't talk specifically about the accident because he faces legal action.
But he did go on the record with Mary Bubala about his battle with alcohol.
This is Delegate Don Dwyer's first in-depth TV interview since the boating accident five months ago.
Dwyer faces alcohol-related charges in a powerboat crash on the Magothy River that injured adults and children.
The Anne Arundel County Republican admitted to being intoxicated.
His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
"It is true that I was drinking while I was I was operating my boat yesterday," Dwyer confessed over the summer.
For months we asked to interview the delegate, and now he says he's ready to talk.
Bubala: "Why did you agree to speak with me today?"
Dwyer:"I feel as a public official that I have the responsibility to those who elected me to be honest and public about my situation."
Bubala: "Tell me about your battle with alcohol. Do you call yourself an alcoholic?"
Dwyer: "It's difficult, but I will. Absolutely, it's very difficult to do that but when you get to the point that you were struggling at the level that I was and using alcohol in the way that I was, clearly I had a problem that needed to be addressed."
Dwyer says since the accident he voluntarily entered a program for alcohol dependency and goes to AA meetings.
The charges against Dwyer are misdemeanors, so he was not expelled from the General Assembly.
Bubala: "Do you feel you should still be in this office?"
Dwyer: "Did I make a mistake? Absolutely I made a mistake. Does everybody deserve a second chance? I think so. Fortunately for me in this case, no one was killed. No one was seriously injured."
Dwyer goes on trial in May. He says he will talk about the accident after that.
He faces a possible year in jail and fines if convicted.
Dwyer no longer serves on the committee that handles legislation involving drunk driving and boating.
