Man charged, 3 sent to hospital in drunk driving incident

Donald Burton
Donald Burton
photo Donald Burton (Photo: Hamilton County Jail booking)

A man is in custody after allegedly driving under the influence and injuring four people early Sunday morning.

Donald Burton, 52, is charged with four counts of vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence on second offense, leaving the scene of an accident causing injury and failure to yield the right of way.

Of the four people who were injured after he struck two vehicles while driving under the influence, three of them were taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to court documents.

One victim suffered multiple facial injuries, another suffered leg and hip injuries and the third and fourth suffered neck and back pain or injuries.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer saw Burton driving on the wrong side of East Main Street, speeding and failing to stay in his lane at 2:36 a.m., according to court documents. The trooper said Burton traveled into four different lanes and was traveling more than 70 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Burton did not slow down when he approached the intersection of East Main Street and Dodds Avenue and struck two vehicles, causing disabling damage. He tried to flee, but his vehicle "gave out after a block," court records state.

The trooper said Burton smelled of intoxicants and there were several open containers in the vehicle. It wasn't clear what kind of intoxicant was involved.

Burton has two prior DUI charges in Tennessee, the trooper noted in a report. One is from 1990 in White County, about 82 miles north of Chattanooga, and the second is from 2008 in Hamilton County.

Burton is being held in the Hamilton County Jail on $17,000 bond.

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