VCSO: Tennyson man showing off 'mini racecar' on Lloyd Expressway arrested on DUI charges

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A Tennyson man allegedly caught speeding on the Lloyd Expressway described his MINI Cooper as a "mini racecar" and wanted to show his friend how fast it could go, police said. 

Matthew Murray, 24, was arrested Sunday morning on a preliminary count of reckless driving along with several preliminary drunken driving charges.

A Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office deputy was traveling eastbound on the expressway near Fulton Avenue around 3 a.m. when he saw the vehicle having difficulty staying in its lane, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The deputy pulled up closer to run the vehicle's license plate number when it suddenly accelerated, reaching an estimated 80 mph.

Murray was pulled over. Police said his eyes were red and glassy, and he smelled of alcohol.

When asked why he was driving so fast, he first said he was showing the passenger how fast the car, which he described as a "mini racecar," could go.

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He then said a vehicle behind him had gotten too close, so he sped away. That vehicle was a marked police car, according to the affidavit.

Murray told the deputy he had four or five beers. He failed one roadside sobriety test but passed two others.

A preliminary breath test measured his blood alcohol concentration at 0.146. He agreed to take a chemical test at Vanderburgh County's jail, which gave a slightly higher result of 0.162, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Police said Murray had one prior conviction each for reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

He was booked into jail shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday, according to online records, and was released after posting $1000 bond later that afternoon. An initial court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.