Orange school board member regrets DUI charge

From staff writer Anne Blythe:

An Orange County school board member charged in November with driving under the influence of alcohol told his board colleagues several weeks ago about the incident.

But so far, Ted Triebel, 67, the member accused of the misdemeanor, has offered few words for the public. “Yes I was involved with a single-car accident on Nov. 5,” Triebel has said. “Yes I was charged with DUI, which I regret.”

Triebel, reached Friday at his Rougemont home, declined to discuss the incident beyond his statement.

He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 24.

According to a citation issued by N.C. State Highway Patrol trooper M.S. Melvin, Triebel was involved in a single-car accident along Guess Road in northeastern Orange County on Nov. 5 while driving his 1995 Honda. Although the trooper said he smelled alcohol on Triebel, he did not do a breath test, but instead had blood drawn at Duke Hospital for testing at the SBI labs.

We'll have more on this story in Wednesday's Chapel Hill News.