UT football player arrested for DWI

Police arrested a UT football player this morning on suspicion of DWI. They say he crashed his car in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant.

UT offensive lineman Kent Perkins walked out of the Travis County Jail Friday morning after a five hour stay.

According to court documents, a Travis County deputy constable spotted Perkins sitting in the driver's seat asleep in the drive-thru line at Raising Cane's at 2 a.m.

The constable told Perkins to move. Then 10 seconds later the constable heard Perkins crash in the parking lot.

The constable found Perkins asleep yet again, turned off the car, removed the keys and called Austin police.

Perkins told the responding officer he drank vodka in mixed drinks, but did not drink a lot.

Perkins consented to two breath tests. Results ranged from .12 to .17. The legal limit is .08.

Coach Charlie Strong released the following statement:

"We are aware of the situation involving Kent Perkins and gathering facts at this time. We're disappointed in his actions and take a strong stance against drinking and driving. When you get behind the wheel after drinking, you not only risk your life, but the lives of others, and that's something you just can't do. We will make sure that Kent learns from this and handle any punishment once we have more information."

"Obviously it becomes more disappointing when someone we look up to makes that mistake,” said Mabe.

Detective Richard Mabe with the DWI unit cannot comment on specifics about the case. He will say the university does a great job giving students transportation options. However, it's up to those students to take advantage of those programs.

"[DWI] affects everyone and that's why it's one of those offenses that is going to take a community effort to combat,” said Mabe. “We as a police department are not going to arrest our way out of this problem."