CLIMAX, MI – With bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on his breath, a Sturgis police officer told a Kalamazoo County sheriff's deputy last month that he had been out celebrating his birthday and admitted to drinking before crashing his pickup truck near Climax.

From there though, things got a little "fuzzy" for 29-year-old Bryan Lee Stuck, according to the deputy's Oct. 26 report obtained this week by the Kalamazoo Gazette under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

"He stated he had no memory of where he had been drinking, what he had been drinking or how much he had been drinking" said Deputy Michael Boisonault, who interviewed Stuck in the back of an ambulance following the 2:40 a.m. crash on South 44th Street near East PQ Avenue.

"He stated that he had no memory of the accident nor any memory of driving. He stated he did not know where he was coming from nor where he was going to. I asked him if the pickup that was off the roadway on its side was his and he stated he was pretty sure that it was."

Stuck was taken from the scene that morning to Bronson Methodist Hospital for treatment of injuries that included a cut on his lower lip. His blood was drawn at the hospital and results of a blood test showed Stuck's blood-alcohol content was .178 percent, more than double the legal limit for driving in Michigan of 0.08 percent.

Stuck, of Bronson, was charged Nov. 7 with one count each of operating a motor vehicle with a high BAC of 0.17 percent or higher and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

The high BAC charge is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a fine of $200 to $700. The OWI charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine of $100 to $500.

Stuck is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Nov. 26 in Kalamazoo County District Court.

Boisonault's report said he responded to the crash at about 3 a.m. after receiving a report of an injury accident on 44th Street where it curves and becomes East PQ Avenue. Dispatchers told him rescue workers at the scene "were requesting a rush response from law enforcement."

Dipatchers called deputies to the scene after Henry Sowles, a friend of Stuck's who formerly worked with him at the Climax Township Fire Department, reported the crash.

Sowles, 51, told Boisonault that Stuck knocked on the front door of his home in the 15300 block of East P Avenue the morning of the crash and asked for help. Sowles said he drove Stuck back to the scene of the crash and called 911 for assistance.

Once he arrived at the scene, Boisonault found that Stuck's 2006 Dodge Ram pickup, which was being driven south on 44th, had struck and broken through a guardrail at the curve before doing down a steep embankment into a ditch and overturning on its driver's side.

Boisonault said the truck had heavy damage to its front end, according to the report.

After observing the scene, Boisonault spoke to Stuck, who was on a backboard and in a C-spine collar in the back of an ambulance.

"I could observe that he had injuries to his face including a laceration to his lower lip and there appeared to be blood in his mouth," Boisonault said. "As I spoke with him standing outside of the ambulance I could immediately smell the strong odor of intoxicants coming from the inside of the ambulance. His speech was slurred and his eyes appeared to be bloodshot."

Stuck, according to Boisonault's report, recalled little of the crash during his interview with Boisonault and, at one point, when asked by the deputy if he had had anything to drink since the crash, Stuck responded, "he might have."

"I asked him if he had any memory of drinking after the accident and he stated no," Boisonault said. "He stated that since he had no memory of the accident it was possible he had consumed alcohol since the accident but had no specific memory of doing so. I asked him what his last memory was prior to being in the back of the ambulance and he stated that it was all 'fuzzy.'"

Stuck also later told the deputy that he had no memory of walking to Sowles' house after the crash.

Stuck was initially placed on paid leave last month by the Sturgis Police Department following the incident. On Nov. 10, police officials said Stuck had been given a two-week suspension following an internal investigation.

At that time, they said Stcuk informed the administration at the Sturgis Police & Fire Department following the crash that he was being investigated for drunk driving and that a blood test was performed on him at the hospital.

In addition to his suspension, Stuck was ordered to take part in mandatory counseling and signed a last-chance agreement with the agency.

Rex Hall Jr. is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.