Actor Sam Shepard suspected of DUI in Illinois

NORMAL -- Police in Illinois say actor and playwright Sam Shepard has been arrested on preliminary charges of speeding and drunken driving.

Police Lt. Mark Kotte said officers stopped Shepard driving a Chevy Tahoe early Saturday in the central Illinois town of Normal.

Shepard, 65, was driving 16 mph over the 30 mph speed limit, Kotte said. A breath test indicated Shepard's blood-alcohol level was double the legal limit, Kotte said.

Shepard told police he had been at a Bloomington tavern called Fat Jack's and was heading to a hotel. He said he was on his way to his home in Kentucky from Minnesota.

Shepard won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play "Buried Child."

He posted bail in Bloomington. A man who answered the jail phone said he did not know the amount of bail. Attempts to locate an attorney for Shepard were unsuccessful.

Fat Jack's owner Tyler Holloway told The (Bloomington) Pantagraph that Shepard has visited his tavern several times during trips through the area.

"He doesn't like to fly, from what I hear," Holloway said. "He likes our place."