Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe HERITAGE CREEK, Ky., June 30 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a Kentucky drunk driving suspect accused of stealing a police cruiser during his arrest blamed his client's actions on the influence of alcohol. Heritage Creek police said Theodore Bickel of Louisville was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser June 19 when he managed to remove his seat belt, move his handcuffed hands to his front, make his way to the front seat of the car and speed off in the vehicle, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Thursday. Advertisement Bickel, 25, crashed the car a few miles away and it flipped over a guardrail onto the roof. Bickel fled the scene and was arrested the following day, police said. Keith McKinney, Bickel's attorney, said his client was "very sorry that this happened and apologizes for his conduct." He said Bickel even apologized to the officer while stealing the vehicle. "I think he said, 'Sorry, dude,' when he took off," McKinney said. "Alcohol changes a lot of people. He wouldn't do anything like this if he was sober, I'll tell you that." Bickel is facing charges of wanton endangerment, driving under the influence, criminal mischief, escape, fleeing or evading police and theft by unlawful taking. Advertisement
