An Evans man has been indicted by the Columbia County grand jury for injuring a passenger while driving drunk in an off-road vehicle.
Mitchell Stopher Jr., 39, was arrested Dec. 27 on the grand jury warrant for two counts of serious injury by vehicle.
Stopher was initially arrested Oct. 3 for DUI, reckless driving and open container of alcohol, but District Attorney Bobby Christine took the case to the grand jury and obtained the indictments.
Stopher was driving an off-road Polaris RZR on Brittany Court around 11:10 p.m. Oct. 2 with one passenger, identified as James Vernon Wilson, 44, of Hampton, Ga., a report says. Stopher was “driving recklessly while attempting a U-turn” in the cul-de-sac of Brittany Court. He overturned the vehicle on its passenger side, partially ejecting Wilson.
The wreck caused the top of the vehicle to crushing Wilson’s hand, causing serious injuries that sent him to Doctors Hospital.
A Facebook page for Stopher identifies him as a local real estate agent. State records show that he is a licensed salesperson with ReMax Reinvented located in Evans.
