Boeing Exec. Charged in DUI Crash

Mount Pleasant police have arrested a Boeing executive following a July single-car crash on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, according to a news report.

William Geary, who is director of mid body assembly and integration for Boeing South Carolina, apparently crashed his 5-series BMW into the center median on the southbound side of the bridge.

Geary, 49, was outside of his car and had a minor injury to his chin when police arrived around 2:20 a.m., according to a Mount Pleasant police incident report. The aerospace executive told officers he had been drinking at a downtown Charleston steakhouse, and police suspected he was intoxicated.

Officers performed their standard battery of four field sobriety tests, which involve stating the alphabet and walking a straight line, among other tasks, all of which Geary reportedly failed.

Geary apparently resides in Mount Pleasant and said he was headed home from dinner with his boss, but his vehicle was traveling back toward Charleston at the time of the crash, the report states. He told officers he didn't know where he was.

He later submitted to a breath test at the police station. He registered a 0.19 alcohol level, which is more than twice the legal South Carolina limit of 0.08, according to a police incident report.

Geary has worked for Boeing since 1986, according to his company bio. He has worked at the airplane-maker's Washington facilities and has also overseen operations in Canada before moving to the Charleston.