The Daily Times

One man was injured and another was charged with driving under the influence Thursday morning after a pickup truck crashed into the Marathon “Mr. Gas” convenience store and gas station at 1910 Louisville Road.

Richard Lee Doyle, 51, Wildwood Road, Maryville, was pulling into the store’s parking lot driving a 2002 Chevy S-10 pickup truck at about 10:01 a.m., according to Alcoa Police Department Sgt. Keith Fletcher.

While parking, he told officers he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake, and wound up crashing into the store’s left side through a window.

Franklin Finger, 63, Kian Court, Maryville, was inside the station eating in one of the booths, and was in the path of the truck as it crashed inside and struck him.

Finger suffered several gashes on his right arm that required stitches, and also complained of neck pain. He was taken via Rural/Metro Ambulance Service to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Barbara Reed, the store’s manager, was in the back room when she heard the crash.

“I saw the aftereffects of it,” she said. “It was a loud bang. As soon as I heard it, I said, ‘What the heck’s going on?’ I didn’t know what happened. I saw the lottery thing headed toward the register and the truck in the window.”

After consenting to a blood test, Doyle was charged with DUI and violation of due care law. He was released on $1,000 bond pending a 9 a.m. Nov. 15 hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.