Salt Lake City councilwoman arrested on suspicion of DUI in Springville
May 5, 2023, 1:02 PM | Updated: 1:31 pm
FILE — Salt Lake City Council member Amy Fowler discusses the opening of a new temporary, emergency overnight shelter for people experiencing homelessness during a press conference at the Salt Lake City-County building in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. (Ivy Ceballo/Deseret News)
(Ivy Ceballo/Deseret News)
SPRINGVILLE, Utah — Salt Lake City Councilwoman Amy Fowler was arrested for investigation of DUI Wednesday following a hit-and-run crash.
Fowler was booked into the Utah County Jail, then released about an hour later. Her bail was listed at $680.
Fowler is also a trial attorney and owner of Fowler Law. Her website says she specializes in DUI, as well as other criminal offenses.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper responded to meet a driver who had been involved in a hit-and-run crash and found Fowler “sitting in her vehicle with the engine running” in Springville just before 11 a.m., according to a police booking affidavit.
The trooper said they could smell alcohol on Fowler’s breath, and “her eyes were red and bloodshot and she was very emotional,” the arrest report states.
Fowler said another vehicle had struck her vehicle in Salt Lake City, but she didn’t stop because she didn’t believe they had stopped, according to the affidavit. More information about the Salt Lake traffic incident was not immediately available.
She denied using alcohol, but the affidavit says Fowler had “diminished fine motor skills” and a breath test showed a reading of 0.111. The legal blood-alcohol content limit in Utah is 0.05 percent.
“She could not use her fingertips to hand me documents, she used her whole hand to retrieve papers and hand them over,” the trooper wrote.
Fowler was initially elected to Salt Lake City’s District 7 — which includes Sugar House — in 2017, and was reelected in 2021.
Fowler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Salt Lake City Council issued a prepared statement referring to the arrest as a “traffic incident.”
“The Salt Lake City Council is aware of a traffic incident involving Council Member Amy Fowler in Salt Lake County on May 3,” it said. “This matter will be addressed outside of Salt Lake City’s jurisdiction, and we are committed to remaining transparent as more pertinent information is made available.”
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Mayor’s office also issued a statement, saying, “Until the justice system and City Council have the opportunity to reach conclusions on this matter, the mayor’s office has no comment beyond saying we’re thankful all involved in this incident are safe.”
Contributing: Carter Williams
