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Driver accused of overdosing on I-74 previously arrested on similar charge

Posted at 11:07 AM, Aug 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-19 16:58:24-04

CINCINNATI -- Friday wasn't the first time Scott Kinmon was accused of overdosing in a vehicle, according to court records.

Cincinnati police arrested him less than four weeks earlier on a similar allegation.

Kinmon, 28, of Crittenden, Kentucky, was charged July 24 with disorderly conduct while intoxicated. He'd arrested overdosed in the cab of his truck, according to a complaint from Cincinnati police, "which caused alarm to passing cars."

Kinmon pleaded not guilty.

Green Township police and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said Kinmon's tractor-trailer jackknifed in the middle of Interstate 74 after he overdosed on heroin and lost consciousness Friday afternoon.

Deputies and officers called to the scene were able to revive him with Narcan, at which point they took him to Mercy West Hospital.

 

Kinmon isn't the first commercial driver accused of overdosing with the motor running this year. Another, Kristopher Phoenix, was arrested July 12 in Cleves after overdosing at a gas station. Police said another customer found him slumped on the floor, bleeding from his nose, and called authorities. Pain pills and heroin were discovered inside the truck.

Drugged driving has overtaken drunk driving as one of the leading perils of the road, according to recent data from the Governors Highway Safety Association. A recent AAA survey also found that a majority of Ohio drivers now see driving after using illegal drugs as a "bigger threat" than those who drive after drinking alcohol, according to regional spokeswoman Cheryl Parker.

The change has forced police departments to change their tactics. That includes teaching officers how to identify several categories of drugs and their effects, as well as how to deal physically and psychologically with a driver suspected of being impaired on a drug.

RELATED: Drugged driving poses new challenges for police

After Friday's incident, Kinmon was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence, failure to maintain control of his vehicle and operation of a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance. Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard set his bond at $300,000 Saturday morning.

The Hamilton County Public Defender's Office is representing Kinmon. His attorney said Saturday he's worked full time for the same company for the past three years.

Bouchard also set Kinmon's bond at $10,000 for a warrant related to his July arrest. Court records don't indicate what drug is suspected in that case.

He also had a warrant for a theft charge from August 2014, when Fairfax police accused him of stealing about $38 worth of food from a Walmart store. Bouchard set his bond at $10,000 on that warrant, too.