Man arrested for DWI with children in vehicle

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - A man has been arrested for driving while intoxicated with children in the vehicle as well as for unlawfully carrying a weapon.

A Texas DPS trooper says he was on routine patrol on FM 685 in Travis County on May 24 when he observed a person driving a Jeep at a higher rate of speed than normal. 

The trooper says he watched the Jeep go through a gas station parking lot and saw children in the vehicle. The trooper says he followed the Jeep and as it turned onto a local road he noticed the Jeep had a defective high mounted stop lamp and activated his emergency red and blue lights to conduct a traffic stop.

The Jeep continued and the trooper activated his siren as the Jeep stopped at a home. The trooper says he saw the children exit the Jeep and go inside the home.

The trooper then approached the driver and observed slurred speech. The trooper asked the driver to exit the Jeep and he asked the driver how much he had drank that day. The driver said one beer at first but later changed it to two.

The driver was carrying a handgun on his person which the trooper removed and seized.

The trooper administered sobriety tests and concluded that the driver did not have the mental and physical facilities to operate a motor vehicle.

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The driver was placed under arrest and has been identified as 45-year-old Christopher Duel.

Duel was taken to the Travis County Jail and has been charged with driving while intoxicated with children younger than 15 years of age, which is a felony. He's also been charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon which is a Class A misdemeanor.