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Driver in crash that killed 5 had DUI incident

Posted at 3:31 PM, Feb 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-14 15:31:24-05

Records show the driver of a wrong-way car that killed five in a crash including himselfwas jailed just over a day earlier on suspicion of drunken driving.

The Dayton Daily News reports that driver James Pohlabeln was arrested early Thursday after his car collided with a parked car.

The paper says Pohlabeln was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and failure to control. He was released about 7 p.m. Thursday.

Investigators suspect Pohlabeln had been drinking when he drove the wrong way on Interstate 75 in downtown Dayton around 3 a.m. Saturday before slamming head-on into an SUV.

Three men killed in the SUV were members of a hard-rock band, CounterFlux, that played across the area. A female passenger in the SUV was also killed.