Elijah M. Stokes, 23, of 658 Wagon Wheel Lane, was charged with driving under the influence, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and failure to control. At 6:33 p.m., Sunday, Stokes was attempting to turn the 2015 Toyota RAV4 he was driving northbound from a stop sign in the Meijer parking lot at 930 Coleman’s Crossing Blvd. Stokes lost control and went off the road and into a retention pond on the west side of Coleman’s Crossing Boulevard. A witness watched the car drive into the pond and flagged down a Marysville Police officer passing on Coleman’s Crossing Boulevard. When the officer reached the embankment the driver was swimming towards him. There was no one else was in the car at the time of the crash. The car sank and the Marysville Fire/Police dive team was called out to remove the car from the pond. When the car was removed, investigators found a loaded gun inside. The driver was checked for sobriety and blew under the legal limit. Stokes also gave a urine sample, which is being tested further.
(Photo submitted)
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