Suspected Drunk Driver Damages Football Field In Coweta

A suspected drunk driver left the Coweta High School football field badly damaged on Friday night.

Police said the driver, 21-year-old Matthew Jenkins, is now in jail as he and his passenger both have minor injuries.

Coweta police shared pictures of the damage to the field. Officer Austin King said bleachers where the band normally sits were scattered, bent and damaged. Several fences were flattened.

"The football coach was in the area and turned on the stadium light which gave us illumination to see what was going on," King said. 

Investigators said Jenkins went across the center line traveling on a nearby highway, went airborne, hit a fence, hit the northside bleachers and then ran into another fence, ending on the five-yard-line.

King said he has never seen a car end up on a football field. 

“It's not every day we would see a car damaged sitting on the football field, especially the way that it was," King said. 

Jenkins was arrested on DUI, left of center, obstruction and transporting an open container. He is currently in the Okmulgee County Jail and will go through tribal court because he is a tribal citizen.

Investigators said the turf on the field wasn't badly damaged. No one else was hurt.

"We're lucky it wasn't a Friday night where the football team was playing," King said 

The City of Coweta said the school district has not appraised the cost of the damage.