He let Jesus take the wheel, he told police. His truck flipped five times

Deputies arriving at a solo crash Saturday morning in Tennessee encountered a bizarre scene.

Driver Chad O. England, 33, had climbed out of the cab of his wrecked pickup truck, then dashed away carrying a jar and “speaking gibberish,” reported WVLT. He told Sullivan County deputies responding to the 10 a.m. wreck northeast of Knoxville, Tenn., that he hadn’t run away but had been “called and was traveling to bow before someone.”

England’s 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck had flipped five times after veering off the highway, according to The Bristol Hearld Courier. A Tennessee Highway Patrol report says England told officers he had closed his eyes and let go of the wheel.

“He said that Jesus was calling him and advised him to let go of the wheel, and that’s what he did,” the report states. He told officers he was behind the wheel, but wasn’t driving at the time of the crash.

Officers found marijuana, cocaine, pipes, rolling papers, “huffing” cans and a nearly empty bottle of Crown Royal whiskey in the truck, WVLT reported.

England faces charges of drunken driving, possession of drugs for sale, possession of paraphernalia, and lacking a driver’s license, registration and insurance.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 8:47 AM with the headline "He let Jesus take the wheel, he told police. His truck flipped five times."