BRIEF: Granite City man charged with felony after alleged DUI accident

Feb. 27--A Granite City man faces felony charges after what police say is his fourth time being caught driving while intoxicated.

Gary Phelps, 33 of 2604 Meadow Lane, crashed into a utility pole in a single-vehicle accident at just before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of W. Chain of Rocks and Maryville roads near <location value="LU/us.il.graity" idsrc="xmltag.org">Granite City. When deputies arrived they said Phelps denied he was driving the car but that they believe evidence reveals he was behind the wheel.

Phelps had his license revoked from a previous DUI conviction.

He was charged with a felony count of driving under the influence and a misdemeanor count of obstructing a peace officer for allegedly lying about being behind the wheel. He was issued traffic citations for improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper registration, driving without insurance and failure to wear a seat belt. He was jailed on $100,000 bail.

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