The Utah Highway Patrol arrested Salt Lake City Council member Amy Fowler in Springville this week on suspicion of driving under the influence after she left the scene of a crash in Salt Lake County, police records show.
“Ms. Fowler was involved in a traffic incident earlier this week and is grateful no one was injured,” Fowler’s attorneys, Skye Lazaro and Paul C. Burke, said Friday in a statement. “We are aware that a citation has been issued for DUI. She intends to address the citation in due course.”
Fowler, who referred questions to her lawyers, was arrested just before 11 a.m. Wednesday and booked into the Utah County jail at 1:20 p.m., records show. She was released on $680 bail about an hour later and faces one count of DUI in Springville Justice Court.
In a separate statement Friday morning, the Salt Lake City Council office also acknowledged a “traffic incident” involving the council member.
“The Salt Lake City Council is aware of a traffic incident involving council member Amy Fowler in Salt Lake County on May 3,” the council office 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.”
UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said Fowler was involved in a crash in Salt Lake County and didn’t stop to exchange information. He said troopers reached Fowler on the phone. She then stopped and waited for law enforcement in Springville.
“She was sitting in her vehicle with the engine running,” a trooper wrote in a report. “I could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the driver’s face and breath. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and she was very emotional.”
Fowler told the trooper she was hit by another car but didn’t stop because she didn’t think the other driver had stopped.
“She had diminished fine motor skills,” the trooper wrote. “She could not use her fingertips to hand me documents; she used her whole hand to retrieve papers and hand them over.”
Fowler first denied using alcohol and refused to perform field sobriety tests before ultimately agreeing to be tested. According to the report, she took a Breathalyzer test that showed a reading of 0.111. Utah’s legal limit is 0.05.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s spokesperson, Andrew Wittenberg, also released a brief statement Friday.
“Until the justice system and City Council have the opportunity to reach conclusions on this matter,” he said, “the mayor’s office has no comment beyond saying we’re thankful all involved in this incident are safe.”
Fowler was reelected in 2021 to a four-year term serving District 7, which includes Sugar House. She runs her own law practice, Fowler Law.
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