By Nathan Daggett / Assistant News Director

A St. Cloud man has been arrested after police suspected he was driving while intoxicated on Friday. 

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call just before 2 p.m. at the intersection of County Road 75 and Franklin Road in Lynden Township. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Dale of St. Cloud was heading south on County road 75 when the vehicle left the road, went down a steep ditch, and struck a large pine tree.  

Dale told deputies that he swerved to avoid striking a deer and was taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of his injuries.  

Further investigation revealed Dale was possibly under the influence of a controlled substance. Dale was booked into the Stearns County Jail for 1st Degree DWI.