According to a Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office incident report, On September 20th, 2023, at 6:50 PM, Deputy Chavez was dispatched to 1053 Burning Bush Road in reference to a single-vehicle crash. According to the report, “Deputy Chavez arrived on the scene with the driver of the vehicle being on the side of the road on his cell phone. Deputy Chavez asked the driver, later identified as Cory Alton Waddell, 31, multiple times to come to him and speak, with Waddell being very hesitant to get close to Deputy Chavez.” Deputy Chavez asked Waddell what happened, and he stated he just ran off the road a little, causing damage to his vehicle. Deputy Chavez observed there was no property damage and no damage to any nearby structures. Deputy Chavez asked the driver if he wanted an accident report or a report for his damages to send to his insurance company, with Waddell being very hesitant to speak. According to the report, “Waddell stated he didn’t call the police that someone else did, and he didn’t want any report. Waddell told Deputy Chavez he had a wrecker on the way already. At 7:05 PM, Deputy Chavez left the scene since Waddell did not wish for police services. At 7:20 PM, Waddell’s wife called dispatch, stating “she did not care what Waddell said, that she wanted a report for the damages and wished for Deputy Chavez to be back en route.” Deputy Chavez arrived on the scene and started a Motor Vehicle Accident process. During this time, Deputy Chavez could now smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Waddell. When asked, Waddell stated that he had not been drinking. Deputy Chavez advised Waddell that he just needed honesty. Waddell stated he only drank one beer. A witness to the crash stated that Waddell discarded some plastic bags into the woods and would not speak with her about what happened. Deputies located the bags, which contained several empty beer cans. During Standard Field Sobriety Testing, Waddell showed several signs of impairment and a BAC of .211 on a PBT. Waddell refused the state test and was booked into the Catoosa County Jail, charged with DUI and failure to maintain a single lane.
Man arrested for DUI after crashing on Burning Bush Road in Catoosa County
