ALDIE, Va. — An elementary school principal in Fairfax County was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.
Court documents with the Loudoun County General District Court said Jonathon Coch, 44, hit a house on Grazing Court in Aldie last Friday afternoon. He was accused of leaving the scene and refusing to take a breathalyzer test.
No injuries were reported.
The mugshot matched the headshot posted on the district website for Navy Elementary School in Fairfax, where Coch has been a principal for at least a decade.
A Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson told WUSA9 Coch is on administrative leave but was unable to provide any more comments.
The bail determinations document from the courthouse listed 'School principal' as his place of employment.
The foundation of the house hit was cracked and suffered $1,000 in damage, per court documents. The owner of the house, who wanted to remain anonymous, told WUSA9 the truck went off the road and down the hill into his house.
"My neighbor called me and told me there was an accident over here and that's when I came out but by that time, the car was gone," the homeowner said. "Pretty unfortunate for him, that's all I can say."
Police said the tag of the vehicle was left at the scene. They tracked down the address for Coch which was only a five minute walk from the crash scene.
"He was unsteady on his feet, had an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person, and had bloodshot glassy eyes," the criminal complaint stated. "He admitted to driving but said he did not know his vehicle was heavily damaged. He refused SFSTs and PBT. He later admitted to drinking spontaneously."
The incident happened while the school district was on a holiday break.
A court hearing has been scheduled for October 12.
“Our team is working vigorously to investigate the specifics of the accident and intend to aggressively defend Mr. Coch against these charges," Coch's attorney Ryan R. Rambudhan said in a statement. "We cannot comment further because the investigation is ongoing, but we ask the community to reserve judgement until all the facts are learned and to please respect the privacy of those involved."