Charges say an off-duty Washington County sheriff’s deputy was driving drunk while wearing his work uniform and carrying his duty pistol in the front passenger seat when he crashed head-on into a family’s SUV at 55 mph in Afton Sunday morning, seriously injuring the Lake Elmo couple. and himself.

Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings, was charged Thursday in Washington County District Court with felony vehicular operation causing great bodily harm and misdemeanor possession of a handgun while under the influence of alcohol in connection with the crash. He had not been booked on the charges as of Thursday night.

Blair was driving his 2024 Subaru Crosstrek SUV northbound on Minnesota 95 (St. Croix Trail) when he crossed the center line on Scenic Lane shortly after 10:30 a.m. and Collided head-on with a 2022 Ford Expedition SUVIt says in the criminal complaint.

Erik Robert Sward, 38, and Heather Lynn Sward, 36, both of Lake Elmo, residents of Blair and Ford, were taken to St. Louis with non-life-threatening injuries. They were transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Erik Sward’s mother he wrote on Facebook The couple was going to the apple orchard to celebrate their daughter’s 2nd birthday when the accident occurred.

“Fortunately, Erik’s quick reflexes allowed him to swerve at the last moment, preventing a more serious accident,” Jodi Sward wrote.

He wrote that his son had fractures in his vertebrae, knee and ankle.

The complaint also stated that he had a tear on his forehead, was bleeding and had a momentary loss of consciousness.

The couple’s three children and two cousins ​​”emerged with only minor scrapes and bruises, while Heather had scrapes, bruises and significant pain,” he wrote.

According to the complaint:

State troopers called to the crash found Blair in his uniform and conscious, but covered in blood from cuts. His duty vest and gun were in the front passenger seat. He told a police officer in St. He said he works at Regions Hospital in St. Paul and finishes work at 7 a.m. He said he was called back to work at the hospital.

Blair was signed up to work overtime as a security guard for a person in custody at the mental health unit at Regions, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Laura Perkins said Thursday.

Field sobriety tests were not performed at the scene of the crash because Blair had to be removed from his SUV and transported to Districts for medical care.

While at Regions, Blair gave a statement to investigators, repeating that he had been called back to work at Regions. He smelled of alcohol but denied drinking. He agreed to take a preliminary breath test and provided a “poor sample” with a blood alcohol level of 0.09, the complaint states. The legal limit for a driver in Minnesota is 0.08.

Investigators later learned that Blair was not called back to work and did not work again until that night. “It was unknown why Blair was wearing full uniform with his duty vest and pistol,” the complaint states.

Many drivers said they saw Blair swerve across the lane markings and drive erratically.

Two witnesses in front of Blair’s SUV, traveling north on Minnesota 95, said Blair went from lane to lane for about two miles. Authorities stated that at one point they thought the SUV turned because it was moving on the shoulder, adding that they noticed that the driver was wearing a sheriff’s uniform.

Cops believe Blair crashed into the couple’s SUV at 55 mph without braking because there were no signs of it on the highway.