The top Republican in the Kansas state Senate has relinquished some of his duties but has not stepped down as majority leader after a DUI arrest that ended in a harrowing wrong-way police chase. The Wichita Eagle reports that police got at least three panicked 911 calls about Sen. Gene Suellentrop’s SUV as it continued in the wrong lane for 10 minutes. He was arrested on suspicion of drunken-driving after he pulled over—but only after leading cops on a five-minute pursuit, police said. After spending a night in jail, the 69-year-old conservative was released without bail, and did not comment for a full day until support from his colleagues began to collapse. In a statement Wednesday he said he was giving up “the bulk” of his duties because the incident had become “a distraction.”
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