Country Star Randy Travis Accused of DWI in Texas

By DIANA HEIDGERD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS
Randy Travis was charged with driving while intoxicated after the country singer crashed his car and was found naked and combative at the scene, officials said.

It was the second arrest this year for Travis, who was cited in February for public intoxication.

A Pontiac Trans Am registered to Travis, 53, had driven off a road west of Tioga around midnight Tuesday, said Tom Vinger, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Travis refused sobriety tests, Vinger said, so a blood specimen was taken. The test results are pending.

Travis was released on $21,500 bond Wednesday morning pending an appearance before a judge in Sherman, about 60 miles north of Dallas.

Vinger said Travis made threats against Texas Highway Patrol troopers and was not wearing clothes at the time of his arrest. Grayson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rickey Wheeler said Travis also faces a charge of retaliation or obstruction.

A Travis representative said there would be no immediate comment on the arrest.

Travis in February was charged with public intoxication after being spotted in a vehicle parked in front of a church in Sanger, about 20 miles from Tioga, where the entertainer lives.

He also has been involved in messy court proceedings with his ex-wife. Travis was divorced from Elizabeth Travis in 2010 after 19 years of marriage.

Earlier this year, Elizabeth Travis, who had been his manager for more than three decades, filed a lawsuit claiming that Randy Travis made it impossible for her to do her job and terminated her management contract without proper notice. She said her ex-husband sent several men, including an armed guard, to clean out her offices.

Randy Travis countersued in May, accusing his ex-wife of divulging confidential information about him in order to damage his reputation and career. The court documents don’t say what information Elizabeth Travis is alleged to have betrayed.