A 39-year-old man was driving west with his dog on State Road 45 when he hit an embankment and flew 40 feet into Tamarron Court on Sunday morning.
The white 2012 Chevy Express crashed through a tree and severed it at five feet off the ground. The driver was unconscious when the car landed on its side. The car stayed in the position until someone discovered it at around 8 a.m., Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said. The dog remained unharmed.
When the fire department arrived to break the windshield to get the driver and his dog out of the van, the man claimed he did not know where he was, how he got there or why the dog was with him, Pedigo said.
When the man was taken out of the van, he tried to throw a small glass jar of what appeared to be marijuana back into the car.
The man told police he had been drinking with his girlfriend and got in a fight with her around 1 a.m. at his home. The woman told police she had gone into his bedroom and tried to lock him out, but he kicked down the door, breaking it off its hinges.
He left the scene and called her at 2:23 a.m., but she told police that was the last time she heard from him before the crash.
Pedigo said the man contacted his ex-wife at the scene to come pick up the dog and go back to his home, where he left his 8-year-old daughter and 10- and 13-year-old sons unattended. She told police in a later interview she found them sleeping and unharmed.
The man complained of overall pain and was taken to the hospital. The paramedics on scene could smell alcohol on him, Pedigo said. When he was taken to the hospital, he consented to have his blood drawn to find the blood alcohol content, which will inform his charges.
The man is currently in the hospital. Police are awaiting test results.
