A city man has been charged with driving under the influence after police said he was found sleeping at a red light Monday morning.
Elizabethton Police Department Captain Anthony Buck responded to the intersection of U.S. Highway 19E and Broad Street at around 8:12 a.m. to find Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford on the scene.
According to the report, Lunceford had pulled his patrol car in front of a white car with the driver, later identified as Matthew Brown, 25, 1803 Siam Road, slumped over the steering wheel. The white car was parked at the red light.
“Sheriff Lunceford handed me a license and stated the driver of the white car told him he was just sleepy and fell asleep at the wheel,” Buck wrote in the report.
Buck said he spoke with Brown, who was still behind the wheel, and asked him what was wrong. Brown reportedly answered that he “just fell asleep.”
Buck said the smell of alcohol was coming from the car and that Brown had somewhat slurred speech so he was asked to complete a series of sobriety tests. Buck continued Brown did “poorly” on the tests and said he had a “few shots” when asked if he had any alcohol to drink. He said a search of the car uncovered two unopened bottles of liquor.
Brown was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He was transported to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for blood tests and then to the Carter County Detention Center. He is scheduled to be in court on Nov. 10 at 9 a.m.