A Wytheville judge accused of driving under the influence pleaded guilty Tuesday in Smyth County General District Court to a reduced charge of reckless driving.

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Michael Keith Blankenship, 44, of Wytheville also pleaded guilty to refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer test. He was fined $100 and his license was suspended for one year, according to the court clerk's office.

The conviction is in relation to an incident March 1. Blankenship was pulled over that evening on Interstate 81 between Chilhowie and Marion and charged with driving under the influence and refusal to take a Breathalyzer.

Blankenship is scheduled to appear June 27 in Powhatan County General District Court to face a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge for another driving incident.

Virginia State Police charged Blankenship on May 3 after witnesses identified him as the driver who left the scene of a crash that occurred about 5:15 p.m. April 27 in Powhatan County. The 2006 Subaru Forester ran off the side of Huguenot Springs Road and hit a telephone line box. The car continued into an adjacent yard before crossing back over the road and hitting an embankment on the left side, uprooting a tree.

After talking with witnesses, troopers tracked Blankenship down at a hotel in Chesterfield County the following morning and charged him, said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

Blankenship, who hears cases primarily in Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, sits in the 27th Judicial District, covering Montgomery, Floyd, Giles, Pulaski, Carroll, Wythe, Grayson and Bland counties and the cities of Radford and Galax. He is also a former Wythe County commonwealth's attorney.

Defense attorney Michael Barbour said Blankenship has chosen to go on leave from his judgeship indefinitely. Barbour also released a statement on behalf of Blankenship on Tuesday, apologizing "to everyone who may have been offended or disappointed by his actions" and thanking those who have supported him.

The statement also mentions stress and fatigue Blankenship felt before the incident stemming from "an extremely difficult medical situation involving his mother."

"He also recognizes that he and no one else is responsible for his actions," the statement says.