Driver spent hours at bar before deadly Butler County crash, affidavit says

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A judge on Thursday released the probable cause affidavit in a crash that killed three people in Butler County last summer. Tyler Beauclaire pleaded guilty earlier this month in connection with a crash that killed three people on U.S. Highway 400 in June. Eliot Eichbauer, 46; Arlo Eichbauer, 19; and Silas Eichbauer,16, all of Wichita, were killed in the crash. Beauclaire and two passengers in his vehicle were also injured. Beauclaire was driving a Chevy Silverado that collided with the Eichbauers' Toyota Tacoma head-on. According to the affidavit, a witness to the crash reported seeing Beauclaire swerve multiple times for about 23 minutes as she followed behind, sometimes drifting onto the shoulder and even into the grass. The woman, a nurse practitioner, stopped to render aid immediately after the crash, along with an off-duty police officer. They quickly determined that all three Eichbauers had died. They found a man, later identified as Beauclaire, lying on the ground unconscious against the roof of the overturned Silverado, with what appeared to be a broken arm. Beauclaire regained consciousness. The affidavit says he told the nurse practitioner and the off-duty officer that he was on medication but that it was "legal." The two witnesses reported smelling alcohol coming from the pickup truck. He initially denied he was driving, despite the vehicle being registered to him, and the other two men being found in passenger seats. All three people in the Silverado were taken to a hospital for treatment. Police went to the hospital to seek blood draws from all three men to check for alcohol and conduct interviews. One of Beauclaire's passengers was still unconscious and unable to speak to police. But a second passenger was able to provide a statement. He said the three men, who all work together, had met at an El Dorado sports bar earlier in the day to drink. They later decided to go to a nearby gentleman's club but said they chose to drive the back roads instead. He reported passing out and not waking up until he was in the hospital. Beauclaire, meanwhile, insisted he was not the one driving. When investigators asked him to provide a blood sample, he refused any testing. He also refused to answer any more questions. Inside and outside of Beauclaire's truck, investigators found several broken bottles of beer of different types. Inside they found a 12-pack of beer, as well as empty beer bottles and one unopened bottle. They also found Beauclaire's wallet. Inside they found ID cards indicating that he had previously worked for three different police departments and still had an active law enforcement certification in Louisiana. Investigators learned that the men were at the sports bar from shortly after 4 p.m. until almost 9 p.m., where they consumed numerous beers and several shots of tequila each. They also obtained surveillance video of them arriving at an El Dorado convenience store, where Beauclaire is seen getting out of the driver's seat after pulling at high speed, parking crooked in the parking space and hitting the curb. He bought beer inside before the three men are seen leaving in his pickup, according to the affidavit. Investigators received warrants to test the airbag of Beauclaire's pickup to compare against the three men to determine who was driving. But when it came time to execute one of the warrants to obtain a sample from Beauclaire, he had already checked himself out of the hospital “against medical advice” and left the state. One of the investigators received a call from a man who claimed to be Beauclaire's father telling the investigator that Beauclaire was an ex-Marine with influential political connections. They also learned of at least one previous incident of him being accused of driving under the influence when he was in an officer in Louisiana. Beauclaire is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23 at 3 p.m.