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Steven Bates tossed a backpack out of a vehicle after crashing it into a ditch on Clarion Drive and Ferry Road around 2:05 a.m. Saturday, March 16, the county sheriff said.
When deputies arrived, they found the Ford still in the ditch with the driver calmly smoking next to it, police said.
Police later learned that the vehicle had gone off Ferry Road, demolished a mailbox, and struck down a street sign before going airborne across Clarion Drive right into the ditch.
Deputies easily located the "poorly hidden" backpack and discovered suspected controlled substances inside, the sheriff's office said. The driver had glassy, bloodshot eyes and the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, police said.
The driver said he didn't know how to answer the question, after a long pause, when asked how much he'd had to drink.
Bates was charged with driving under the influence, two counts of destruction of property, possession of controlled substances, possession of controlled paraphernalia, and the traffic lane violation. He was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $3,000 secured bond.
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