KUTV anchor returns to air, issues apology after DUI arrest

KUTV-Channel 2 anchor Shauna Lake returned to the air during the 5 p.m. broadcast Tuesday, issuing a two-minute apology after her arrest last week on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

"As many of you are aware, last Tuesday night I made a serious lapse in judgment," a teary-eyed Lake said just before the first commercial break. "I drank alcohol after I got off of work. And then I chose to get behind the wheel of my car."

Lake added: "I'm ashamed and humiliated by my decision. It was selfish. I could've hurt someone else, or myself."

She then apologized to KUTV viewers, who have trusted her "night after night" for 23 years and considered her a friend.

"I let you down," she said.

Lake was arrested by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper at 12:18 a.m. Wednesday. According to a booking statement the trooper filed with the Salt Lake County jail, the trooper noticed Lake driving slower than the speed limit in the far left lane of southbound Interstate 215 near 1200 East. He saw that her SUV had an expired registration plate.

In addition to misdemeanor driving under the influence, Lake, 46, was charged Monday in Murray Justice Court with misdemeanor counts of using license plates registered to another vehicle and having an open alcohol container in the vehicle. She also was charged with having expired license plates, which is an infraction.

Lake apologized to her friends and family — "most notably my two sons, who are my life."

There has been an "outpouring" of support since the arrest was made public last week, she said. "But I also know that some of your are very angry and disappointed in me, and you have every right to be."

Lake had a clear cup with a straw in the center console that the trooper wrote "smelled like an alcoholic beverage."

Lake reportedly told the trooper she had "two sips" of alcohol before driving. The trooper wrote that Lake failed the field sobriety test and refused a preliminary breath test. She requested a chemical blood test, he wrote.

The jail released Lake about an hour after her arrival.

Lake joined the station in 1994 as a morning anchor.

Before Tuesday, she had not appeared live on the air since the arrest. The station previously declined to comment on the incident.

Lake said the arrest and subsequent fallout have been the most painful experiences of her life — but they also had the potential to be the most "defining."

"What I did was wrong," she said. "And I just hope, over time, night by night, you can learn to trust me again."

Editor's note: The Salt Lake Tribune is a content partner with KUTV.