Salt Lake Tribune sports reporter tells Twitter he is drinking while driving
A Salt Lake Tribune sports reporter tweeted after a Utah State University football game at 1:06 a.m. Sunday morning that he was drinking “a Coors Light while driving in Sardine Canyon.”
Steve Luhm, who had just left Maverik Stadium following the Aggies’ 38-20 victory over Fresno State University, noted in the tweet that he was celebrating the Chicago Cubs’ first visit to the World Series in more than 70 years.
Luhm’s followers quickly took screenshots of the tweet and replied in bewilderment that Luhm was admitting to drinking while driving on one of the most dangerous roads in Utah.
Luhm deleted the tweet about 40 minutes later, but not before replying to critics.
“Sipping one 12-punce beer during a two-hour drive is hardly dangerous,” he wrote. “I am not stupid. Good grief.”
That tweet has also since been deleted.
Followers commented that they hoped the typo for the word “ounce” was simply due to the fact that he may have been focusing on the road while tweeting and drinking simultaneously, not because he was also impaired.
Luhm had been representing The Tribune at the Utah State football game. The game ended at approximately 12:16 a.m. The following press conference, which Luhm tweeted about, ended at approximately 12:50 a.m.. Tweets from Luhm started coming about 15 minutes later.
“We are aware of the incident,” said Tribune sports editor Joe Baird, who said he learned of the tweets on Sunday. “It is being handled internally; it’s a personnel issue.”
Baird declined to say whether Luhm was still on assignment covering Utah State sports.
Luhm has continued to file stories for The Tribune and tweet, and has blocked several Twitter followers who criticized his actions.
Among other alcohol-related accidents in Sardine Canyon was an incident in which a 57-year-old man was hospitalized after a rollover crash in March. The canyon can be dangerous even when alcohol is not involved, however. In December, Utah State student Joshua Diamond was killed in a broadside crash with a semi truck.
Luhm issued a vague apology on Tuesday morning, not mentioning what it was for. “I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment Saturday night,” he tweeted. “It was a huge mistake. My promise to you is it won’t happen again.”