‘I been drinkin’, yeah’: Aynor town manager faces DUI, open container charges

CORRECTION: When the S.C. Highway Patrol arrived at the scene of this incident, Aynor Tire Mart was already there to pull Godsey’s Suburban out of the ditch. However, the company did not remove the vehicle from the ditch until after law enforcement arrived.

Aynor Town Manager Lonnie “Tony” Godsey was arrested on May 7 for driving under the influence and having an open container of beer in his vehicle, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Godsey plowed his Chevrolet Suburban into a sign on Enoch Road before ditching his SUV near the intersection of S.C. 319 and Valley Forge Road a few miles southeast of Aynor, according to Highway Patrol records. 

Godsey, 51, was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center shortly before 3 a.m. on May 7, according to jail records. He was released around 10 a.m. that day.

On the night of the crash, SCHP officer Mariah Moore responded to the scene of the wreck near S.C. 319 and Valley Forge Road. Aynor Tire Mart was already there to pull Godsey’s Suburban out of the ditch, SCHP records state. Godsey was also at the scene. 

Moore wrote in a collision report that Godsey smelled of alcohol and had red, bloodshot eyes. She wrote that Godsey admitted to drinking alcohol at a friend’s house and driving his Suburban into a ditch.

Highway Patrol dashcam footage captured the conversations.

“OK, so how much have you had to drink tonight, because I can smell it on you,” Moore asked.

“I mean, I been drinkin’, yeah,” Godsey replied.

“Well, how much have you had to drink?” Moore asked again.

“Not sure,” Godsey said.

Godsey twice refused a field sobriety test and Moore told him he was under arrest, records show. Godsey then asked if he could do the sobriety test to stay out of jail, but Moore told him he had already refused and arrested him.

While Godsey was sitting in Moore’s patrol car, his sister came to the scene, the dashcam footage shows. Moore told her Godsey was fine but was drunk and under arrest. “He ran off the road to hit the sign, and then hit the ditch,” Moore explained.