VENTURA : Mayor Charged in Drunk-Driving Crash

The Ventura County district attorney’s office on Wednesday formally charged Ventura Mayor Gregory Carson with drunk driving in connection with a single-car accident on the Ventura Freeway on Oct. 9.

Carson was arrested early that morning after his 1989 Isuzu Trooper rolled off the freeway south of the West Main Street exit, the California Highway Patrol said. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Ventura County Municipal Court on Nov. 8.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Nancy Ayers said Carson, who owns a nursery, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.10%. A person is legally drunk in California with a level of 0.08%.

Ayers said the mayor will be offered the standard disposition for first-time offenders. That includes a fine of $1,515, 36 months probation and the option of either serving 48 hours in jail or five days of community service, she said.

He would also have a mandatory three-month suspension of his driver’s license. The suspension would be lifted after Carson completes alcohol-education classes, Ayers said.

Carson has said he and three friends shared two bottles of wine at a restaurant and that he had another glass of wine prior to the wreck.

Carson, who said Wednesday that he has not yet hired an attorney, said he regrets the incident and wants others to learn from his mistake.