Deputies in New Carlisle said a man is in custody after he crashed his vehicle into the front doors of a local church early Wednesday morning.

The crash happened at the First United Methodist Church, 220 S. Main Street.

Pastor Jeff Burdsall said, “we have three other entrances to the church, so we’re fine.” “We just have to clean up the mess.”

Burdsall is refering to the mess made after a man’s vehicle damaged the front entrance of the church around 2 a.m. Deputies said the sheriff’s office received a call from a nearby resident reporting the car into the building.

The driver, Jeremiah McClure, 28, of New Carlisle, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, after he allegedly drove at a high rate of speed north on South Main, said Sgt. Brad Barnhart with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. McClure lost control of the car and drove off the right side of the road, plowing through the church’s front doors and also striking a light pole, he said.

McClure suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.

Burdsall said a similar incident occurred not long ago, when another driver took out some railing on the front of the church. In that crash however, the building was not hit, he said.

The crash remains under investigation by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

McClure is scheduled to be arraigned in the Clark County Municipal Court at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.