A deputy from Shelby County Sheriff’s department was injured this past Saturday in a DUI accident. The crash occurred when a pick-up slammed into his cruiser in North Shelby County. An official spokesperson for the department said Deputy Charles Wallace was responding to a local call about a sick baby at a home on the 45th block of Cedar Leaf Cove around 7:00 p.m. when the accident happened.
Due to the weather, the deputy chose not to engage his siren or emergency lights, and was driving below the normal speed limit, department spokesman Steve Shular said. As he was cruising south on Raleigh-Millington near Sykes Road, a truck was heading north and turned left into the driver’s side door of the squad car. The impact of the crash sent the cruiser off the road into a field where he was trapped inside his vehicle with a gash on his forehead until emergency crews arrived at the scene of the accident.
The deputy was sent directly to the hospital to be treated and received several stitches for a cut to his head. He remained in the hospital until late Saturday night in stable condition.
The alerted deputies found three unopened cans of beer in the pickup and noticed the driver smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, according to the charges. The driver, 43-year-old Centeno Martin of Millington, was charged with a DUI and failure to yield. According to the Metro DUI Squad, Martin’s blood alcohol content was 0.13 when the legal limit in Tennessee is 0.08. They also discovered a handgun, loaded with ten rounds of ammunition inside the truck.
Bond was set at $7,500 for Centeno, who is to appear in court today.
