Franklin man faces drunken driving charge

A Franklin man was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated after his car hit three cars in a parking lot, damaging the front of his car until it couldn’t be driven and smashing two cars to the point that a tow truck had to pull them apart.

Donald J. Spencer, 53, was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated after the multiple-car accident in the parking lot at Desperation Depot, 3522 S. U.S. 31, Franklin.

Police said Spencer backed out of a parking space, hitting the rear bumper of a Jeep Grand Cherokee also parked in the lot. He then drove forward, smashing into the side of a pickup truck, which moved and hit another pickup parked next to it.

A tow truck had to pull the two pickups apart, but both were able to be driven away by their owners, the police report said.

Spencer told police he drank four beers, the last one about 30 minutes before getting into his car, according to a police report. Spencer failed field sobriety tests and blew a 0.14 percent blood-alcohol content on a portable breath test, nearly twice the legal limit to be considered too intoxicated to drive.

Spencer, 3371 S. County Road 550E, was taken to the Johnson County jail and held on $1,000 bond.