Alcohol was found inside the vehicle of a Rainbow Lounge bartender who died Sunday after rear-ending an 18-wheeler, Arlington police told the Dallas Morning News.
Bradley Larson, 41, ran his Honda Accord into the tractor-trailer at about 6:15 a.m. on Interstate 30 near Ballpark Way, police said.
Witnesses told police that Larson was traveling at speeds up to 100 mph before the collision, and also reported seeing a small blue car speeding nearby.
Larson was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck.
Inside his Accord police found two closed containers of alcohol and a white powdery substance that came back positive in a field test as an illegal substance, Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard told the Star Telegram.
Police said they are investigating whether Larson was impaired and also trying to piece together the sequence of events that unfolded after he left work Saturday night.
Dallas County records show Larson was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in November 1999 and was free on bond after being arrested last week on a second DWI charge, and possession of a controlled substance, the Star Telegram reported.
The Rainbow Lounge is the site of a controversial June raid by Fort Worth Police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Gay rights activists accused the agencies of using excessive force after a bar patron was left critically injured. The TABC later apologized, calling the raid unjustified.
