Man charged with DUI after Jeep strikes Charleston home

A 21-year-old man faces a drunk driving charge after he crashed his Jeep Wrangler into two homes and a car on the Charleston peninsula early Friday, police said.

Andrew Koontz is charged with driving under the influence in the 2:30 a.m. crash on Rose Lane, Charleston police said. A breath test put his blood-alcohol level at .28, about 3-1/2 times the legal limit of .08, a police report stated.

Rose Lane resident Mike Murray said the loud crash woke him from a deep sleep. “There was a loud boom, almost like thunder,” he said.

Murray said he looked outside and saw two of his neighbors’ homes had been damaged, one fairly extensively.

Koontz told officers he was driving south on Rose Lane when he became distracted while texting on his phone. He said he veered off of the road and struck the corner of 21 Rose Lane, an incident report stated.

The impact caused the Jeep to strike a car parked along the road, police said.

Officers noted damage to both 21 and 23 Rose Lane. The former had several rows of damaged siding; the latter had damage to its wooden fence, a police report stated.

Koontz, who was not wearing a seatbelt, had a cut on his forehead from his head hitting the windshield, police said. A woman in his vehicle was not injured, police said.

Officers said Koontz had a strong odor of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests before he was arrested, according to an incident report.