St. John’s Medical Center acting CEO John Kren was charged with DUI earlier this month after allegedly flipping his truck and later being arrested in the hospital’s emergency room.
According to the probable cause statement by Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Dunlap filed Jan. 17 in 9th Circuit Court, Kren, 45, lost control of his Chevrolet pickup truck shortly after 9 p.m. Jan. 13 while heading north on Spring Gulch Road near the Cattlemen’s Bridge. The truck rolled and came to rest on its cab.
Sheriff’s deputies noticed Kren showed “several signs of intoxication” after the crash, the court document states. There was a “very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath,” his eyes were “red and watery” and his speech was “noticeably slurred,” the document states.
A portable breath test measured Kren’s blood alcohol content at 0.18 at the time of his arrest, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to the probable cause statement. Kren told deputies he had two drinks that night, the document said.
St. John’s Board of Trustees President Michael Tennican learned about the incident from Kren on Jan. 20. In a written statement, trustees said that, although they have not met to discuss the matter in detail, they “are not aware of any evidence that this was [anything] other than an isolated incident occurring outside of work hours.”
“John has been a strong contributor to the work of the hospital for more than 10 years,” the statement reads. “His performance has been exemplary, and there have never been any questions raised in regard to his conduct or behavior.”
Kren sustained minor abrasions and a cut to his nose in the crash, according to Dunlap’s statement, and was transported to St. John’s Medical Center by ambulance. Kren had not been wearing a seat belt.
There were no passengers in his truck, and no other vehicles were involved, the statement said. However, due to an earlier report that multiple persons were trapped in the vehicle, emergency responders were called to the scene, Dunlap reported.
“I am distressed and embarrassed that I was involved in a single-car accident on Jan. 13 and have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol,” Kren wrote in a statement. “I’m terribly sorry that this happened. This has never happened before in my life, and I will work diligently each and every day to make sure it never happens again.”
Kren, the hospital’s chief financial officer, has served as acting CEO since Nov. 1, after the early retirement of CEO Pam Maples. She and several trustees recommended him for the position.