Many Stafford residences woke up this morning to discover Telegraph Road was shut down. This was due to a driver attempting to drive through a pole.

On May 9th at approximately 10:12 p.m. Deputy J.J. Suh responded to the area of Telegraph Road and Barnwell Drive for an auto accident. It was advised a vehicle was on its side and the driver was still stuck inside. When Deputy Suh arrived, he observed a communications pole completely destroyed and blocking the street. The road was shut down as Deputy Suh was able to help safely remove the driver from the vehicle, who was not seriously injured.

The driver advised his brakes failed causing him to crash; however, Deputy Suh suspected there might be another cause. The driver had the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, admitted to consuming four Coronas minutes before the accident, and an empty beer can was located among the debris.

After conducting field sobriety tests, the driver was taken into custody. He was charged with driving under the influence and held at Rappahannock Regional Jail until sober. The road would remain closed as crews cleaned up the mess, which lasted until 8:34 a.m. this morning.