Former CNN Anchor Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Leave Scene of Drunk Driving Crash

Leon Harris, a former CNN host and a current anchor at WRC-DC in Washington, D.C., was arrested over the weekend for allegedly crashing a car while intoxicated and trying to leave the scene.

WRC, the station which employees Harris, reported the veteran anchor was driving on Saturday evening in Montgomery County, Maryland, when he slammed into the back of another car.

That car then hit a third car, and police were called. WRC reported that when officers arrived, Harris attempted to leave, but was detained.

After he reportedly failed a field sobriety test, police determined his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit and he was arrested on multiple charges.

Harris faces a total of nine misdemeanor charges, including DWI, DUI, and attempting to elude police.

WRC’s Shawn Yancy, citing a police report, noted:

According to the report, no one was seriously hurt. It says when officers arrived, Leon tried to leave the scene, but police stopped him. We reached out to Leon for comment. He’ll be off the air as the investigation continues.

Some might remember Harris for his time at CNN, where he worked from the early 1980s until the early 2000s.

Harris was on the air on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and covered the events of the day from a network desk.

Former CNN anchor Carol Lin recalled the network’s lineup during an interview with Deadline on the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks, back in September.

Deadline reported: “Lin, who left CNN in 2006, was among a team of anchors and reporters who mobilized for a round-the-clock schedule that day, as coverage shifted to Leon Harris and Daryn Kagan and later to Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff.”

WRC reported Harris also covered the L.A. riots, the Oklahoma City bombing and the O.J. Simpson trial for CNN before he moved to Washington in 2003.

Watch above, via WRC-DC.