LR5 board member ‘passed out’ at Lake Murray dam before DUI, SC police say
More details have emerged in the arrest earlier this month of a Midlands school board member for driving under the influence.
The S.C. Highway Patrol has released its arrest report for Elizabeth Barnhardt, a Lexington-Richland 5 school board member who was arrested for DUI 1st offense after a traffic stop.
At 2:30 a.m. on Monday, May 5, Barnhardt was seen driving on North Lake Drive, where her car left the proper lane, a Lexington County sheriff’s deputy reported to S.C. Highway Patrol. She had previously been seen “passed out” at the Lake Murray Dam, the report says. The deputy followed Barnhardt to the driveway of her home and called for a highway patrolman to conduct a sobriety test.
Barnhardt, who was the only person in the car, was asked to perform a walk-and-turn test.
“Ms. Barnhardt started the WAT in different directions in different areas of the roadway too soon 4 times,” the report says. “Whenever I tried to gather her attention or when I told her to ‘stop’ so that the instruction phase could finish, Ms. Barnhardt had very delayed responses. I stopped the WAT prior to the walking phase due to Ms. Barnhardt’s inability to follow instructions.”
Barnhardt reportedly admitted to drinking “two small bottles of wine” at the dam earlier, and a four-pack of wine mini-bottles was found in her car with two of the bottles missing, the report says. When she was placed under arrest for DUI 1st offense, Barnhardt reportedly said she “wasn’t driving” and also informed the trooper she was a member of a school board.
When she arrived at the Lexington County Detention Center, Barnhardt reportedly “verbally and physically refused” to breathe into a breathalyzer, which under state law would lead to an automatic six-month suspension of Barnhardt’s driver’s license.
Barnhardt continues to serve on the school board for the Chapin-Irmo area, where her term is up at the end of 2026. Her attorney Stephen Hucks told The State that she intended to “refute and defend these charges in court” when contacted for the initial story on her arrest.
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