A 25-year-old Warren man has been cited for drunk driving and reckless operation after police say his car crashed into a utility pole before smashing through the side of a business early Friday.

Police say they found Elijah Cofield and a 19-year-old woman standing outside a Cadillac SUV that had crashed through the side of Bumbico’s Best Detailing business at Youngstown Road SE and Adelaide SE.

Although a witness told police that it appeared the Caddy had been racing with another car, Cofield claims he and his passenger were coming from a bar when his car was sideswiped by another car, forcing him off the road.

Officers reported that Cofield and the woman passenger both appeared to have facial injuries, and both passed out at the accident scene, according to the police report.

Cofield was taken to St. Joseph Hospital. The woman went to Trumbull Regional Medical Center.

Noting that they could smell alcohol at the crash scene, police said that Cofield refused to submit to a blood alcohol test at the hospital.

 

Elijah Cofield

 

Damage to the pole caused a power outage in the area for more than four hours.

Cofield is scheduled to answer the charges in court on Monday.

Police in Warren spent early Friday investigating a crash into a building,