William S. Moore couldn't explain why he backed his van last week into the new department vehicle of Blount County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Jeff French.
But the Rockford man knew he'd made a mistake, records show. He offered a couple curse words and said he recognized he'd "messed up" and that he was "coming down off heroin," a deputy's report states.
Moore, 32, faces a DUI charge in the Jan. 12 incident.
Records state French was in a 2017 Chevy Tahoe shortly before 10 p.m. when Moore, driving a 2004 Honda Odyssey van, suddenly backed up about 30 yards and hit him. It happened on Old Knoxville Highway near Defoe Circle.
Both vehicles suffered obvious damage, although the Chevy remained drivable, a report states. Neither man was hurt.
Blount County Deputy Joseph Maus said in a report he talked to Moore after the crash as he sat in a cruiser.
Moore said he'd had a 24-ounce beer about two hours beforehand, the report states. He smelled of alcohol, according to Maus's report.
A sample of Moore's blood was drawn and sent for testing to see if he was intoxicated. Moore was booked into the jail on the DUI charge.