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Barnstable police sergeant charged with OUI

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A member of the Barnstable Police Department has been charged with OUI after crashing his car into a utility pole.

On Monday, Barnstable police were called to Route 6A near the Sandwich town line for a car that had crashed into a utility pole.

Police say 46-year-old Christopher Challies of Sandwich was driving a pickup truck when he crashed. The truck had extensive front-end damage, a shattered windshield and airbag deployment. Challies was taken to Cape Code Hospital Emergency Room with unknown injuries.

Challies, a sergeant with the Barnstable Police Department, told officers he was distracted by his cell phone before the crash, but officers say the damage and the distance the truck traveled off the road did not match a brief cell phone distraction.

Officers determined Challies had been driving under the influence and charged him with OUI, operating to endanger and failure to stay within marked lanes.

Route 6A had to be closed for nearly 15 hours while utility crews replaced the pole.

According to Hyannis News, Challies was on paid administrative leave and being investigated for allegedly leaving a loaded gun in a Bourne restaurant bathroom, which was found by a 10-year-old boy.