A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy, accused of causing a series of crashes while driving drunk on Sunday, resigned from the department today.
Eric Schneider, 33, had originally been placed on administrative leave while the department completed its two-day internal investigation, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. The investigation recommended that Schneider be terminated.
Today, Schneider voluntarily resigned before an administrative decision was made.
Around 11:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Schneider allegedly stopped his Ford Escape in the middle of northbound Interstate 25, just north of Founders Parkway.
The Escape caused a crash that initially involved three vehicles. During a secondary crash, three additional vehicles stopped behind Schneider’s SUV before a fourth car slammed into the back of the line, launching the line of vehicles into each other.
No one was sent to the hospital, but four people reported minor injuries.
Schneider was off-duty at the time of the accident. He faces charges of drunken driving, careless driving and DUI per se.
According to Schneider’s LinkedIn page, he has been a Douglas County deputy since April 2008 and serves on the Special Operations Response Team, which responds to disturbances at the jail.
