Pharmacist Driggs, triathlete, seriously injured after allegedly hit by drunk driver

DRIGGS – A local pharmacist and triathlete was seriously injured after being hit by an alleged drunk driver.

Brent Peacock was seriously injured in the crash, reportedly breaking the C1 bone in his cervical spine.

According to the New York Times and Jackson Hole Magazine, Peacock is youth mountain bikeh and a five-time US national champion in winter triathlon.

25-year-old Luis Gustavo Rosas Abarca is charged with aggravated felony.

Court documents show that a Teton County Sheriff’s deputy was called to a vehicle accident at the intersection of Bates Road and Courthouse Drive on Saturday around 6:42 p.m.

When the deputy arrived, the SUV was northbound on Bates Road with a Toyota Tundra nearby “with extensive front-end damage.”

Police say the deputy spotted a man, identified as Peacock, in the SUV. The deputy says Peacock was “moving but unable to get out of the vehicle.”

It is reported that the deputy broke the hatch of the SUV and helped Pavlina get out of the car. Peavych told the deputy that he felt pain in his neck, back and hips.

After making sure Peacock answered, the deputy approached the Toyota and opened the driver’s side door. According to court documents, the deputy “immediately smelled an alcoholic beverage as well as what (the deputy) believed to be burning marijuana.”

The deputy says he was unable to find anyone in the Toyota, but did notice a man, later identified as Rosas Abarca, in the roadway “holding his chest and appeared to be having trouble breathing.”

A deputy approached Rosas Abarca and reportedly noticed “bruising around his left collarbone, indicating that he had been operating a vehicle.” The deputy also noted that he could smell alcohol on Rosas Abarka’s breath.

Rosas Abarca allegedly admitted to drinking two cups of beer, and the deputy reported that his speech was slurred and his eyes were “bloodshot and shiny.”

When asked what happened, Rosas Abarca reportedly said he was driving when “a vehicle tried to pass him and he swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid colliding with the vehicle and hit the vehicle in the lane , where he was going.”

The deputy spoke with several witnesses to the crash, who said they saw the Toyota speed down the roadway, then cross into the oncoming lane and crash head-on into the SUV.

Witnesses also reported seeing a woman holding a backpack get out of the passenger compartment of the Toyota after the accident and leave the scene.

Rosas Abarca and Peacock were taken to Teton Valley Hospital. Peacock reportedly fractured the C1 bone in his neck and was taken to EIRMC in Idaho Falls due to the severity of his injuries.

According to EIRMC spokesperson Colin Niemann, Peacock has already been released.

Police reports say Rosas Abarca had a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of 0.163 and a probable positive test for cocaine.

After a medical examination, Rosas Abarca was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on $25,000 bond.

He is expected to appear at a preliminary hearing on October 30. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.