Vermont man faces ninth DUI charge

HIGHGATE — A Vermont man recently released from prison after serving time for a fatal drunken-driving accident in 1990 is back in jail following his ninth arrest for driving while intoxicated. Vermont State Police said 54-year-old Douglas Gardner drove a car off Route 78 and down an embankment in Highgate around noon Saturday. Gardner was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated operation without the owner's consent and driving while his license was suspended. He is being held on $50,000 bail. According to the Burlington Free Press, Gardner was released from prison on April 14 after serving nearly 20 years for a fatal head-on crash in 1990 that killed 20-year-old Billy LaBier III, a student at Johnson State College. At the time, Gardner's sentence was considered the toughest in Vermont history.