LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police say a man was under the influence when he drove onto a sidewalk, killing a 5-year-old boy.
On Tuesday we saw just how impaired Edward Pearce appeared to be on the night he was arrested.
Slumped over and in a nearly unconscious state, Pearce can be seen on video as he was booked at Metro Corrections.
"Edward?" an officer asks on the video. "Edward?"
"Yeah..." Pearce replies.
"You alright?"
Pearce is the man police say drove over a lawn, running over and killing a 5-year-old boy riding his scooter on a walk with his family.
"You alright?" the officer asks.
The video is part of newly released evidence from the case. In it, Pearce struggles to stay awake and at times, seems unable to follow officers' instructions.
Police say Pearce was high -- possibly on heroin -- when he drove a minivan onto a P.R.P. sidewalk in April, hit and killed 5-year-old Benjamin Clem on a scooter and took off. The scene horrified neighbors who reported Pearce driving erratically and swerving in the road. Yet in the video, he seemed to have no idea why he was being booked.
"I have not had nothing to drink," Pearce says on the video. "I am completely sober. I am on medication...(inaudible)...but I stopped taking them about two days ago."
Tests did come back negative for alcohol, but officers say they found a needle with clear liquid in his pocket.
When asked if he would submit to a blood test, Pearce can first be seen on the video agreeing -- then he backs off, saying he wants to talk to an attorney.
Pearce pleaded not guilty to murder, DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and heroin possession. He remains in Metro Corrections on a $1 million bond.
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