A Bloomfield man was in court this morning for a hearing on OVWI charges filed after he crashed his car in May. He was allegedly driving too fast with a BAC of .285, ran off the road and crashed. The car then caught on fire.

William L. White, 54, Bloomfield, was the driver of a black 2015 Chrysler 300 in a one-vehicle crash back in May that was investigated by Deputy Alan Jackson of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

White was injured in the crash and transported to the hospital but he later received a summons to appear in court today, Wednesday, July 9. So this morning at the 8:30 a.m. initial hearing in Greene Superior Court, he was formally charged with:

• Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,

• Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and

• Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor.

On Wednesday, May 20, a citizen called 911 at 7:14 p.m. and said there was a wrecked car on State Road 157 north of Bloomfield and the car was on fire. The caller said the driver might be injured, but was out of the car.

Deputy Jackson was dispatched along with the Greene County Ambulance Service and fire crews. When the deputy arrived, firefighters were getting the fire out while EMTs were giving initial medical attention to the driver in the ambulance.

White was identified as the driver who allegedly said he was going too fast and ran off the road. He exhibited signs of intoxication and when asked how much he had to drink, he allegedly admitted he had too much to drink.

White was cooperative, consented to testing and signed a form allowing his medical records to be released to the deputy for the investigation.

The next day, the hospital provided the deputy with the results of a blood draw taken after White arrived at the hospital for treatment. It showed White’s blood alcohol concentration at that time was .285. The legal limit is .08.