ELKHART COUNTY — A late night accident on the Elkhart County-St. Joseph County line ended with a police car in pieces, and an Elkhart City police officer behind bars. Police arrested Cpl. Benjamin Kruszynski, 38, on a misdemeanor charge of Operating While Intoxicated.

Cpl. Kruszynski is a 9-year veteran officer of the Elkhart Police Department.

Elkhart Police say Kruszynski was behind the wheel of a marked Elkhart Police squad car when the vehicle left the road and hit two fences and a tree. It happened around 11:15 p.m. Sunday at Brummitt Road and Ash Road, right outside Discovery Middle School.

Police also say Kruszynski wasn't alone in the squad car. A 43-year-old man and three 18-year-old females were also inside. Police have not released any of their names.

All walked away from the accident unhurt, according to a news release by Elkhart Police Lt. Ed Windbigler.

Witnesses say the vehicle had been driving at a high rate of speed on Brummitt toward Ash, when it hit the first fence, crossed Ash Road, and slammed into the tree.

It took out Allen Green's wooden fence in the process.

After 15 years living on Ash Road, Green says he's seen hundreds of speeding cars. But, until Sunday night, he'd never seen anything quite like what ended up just 15 feet from his front door.

"It sounded like something blew up," Green said, walking toward the crash site, still littered with debris and fallen tree limbs. "I seen the smoke, and I came running out and it was an Elkhart Police car backwards into this tree."

His first thought?

"I was surprised when I seen a police car sitting there. I didn't know what to think. I thought, maybe they were chasing somebody or something," Green said.

Robert Bobak thought the same thing when he heard the crash.

"I heard this screeching halt, like a car sliding with its brakes on, and then, the impact. I thought it had hit the house, because it shook our house. That's how hard it hit. It shook the house, and we're two houses down," Bobak said.

He ran out to the scene too, and couldn't believe what he saw.

"When it hit the tree, it pushed the trunk all the way to the back window. There was no trunk left. I thought they must have been in a chase, chasing somebody down. Then I realized it was a one car crash," Bobak said.

Both men asked Kruszynski the same thing.

"I yelled at him, and said, 'Hey, do you guys need me to call 911?' He said, 'No, I think everybody's alright,'" recalled Green. "One of the teenagers was already out of the car, and two more were getting out when I came out."

"I said, 'Well, who was driving this police car?' Because I figured the police officer was out walking around. [Kruszynski] said, 'I was.' Well, he was off duty in shorts," recalled Bobak.

"I asked him if he was OK, and he said 'I'm having problems in my neighborhood.' And he walked away and put his hands down and kind of shook his head," Bobak continued.

According to Elkhart County Police Department Public Information Officer Trevor Wendzonka, Cpl. Kruszynski was arrested at the scene for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was booked into the county jail shortly after 1 a.m. and administered a breathalyzer test that registered 0.12.

That's 1.5 times the legal limit of 0.08.

Wendzonka says all of the teens in the squad car passed field sobriety tests and were determined not to have been drinking.

Still, questions remained from witnesses over why the teens were in the squad car in the first place.

"One of the parents of one of the kids stopped by here and said the 43-year-old was a parent of one of the teenagers," said Green. "But, even if that's the case, I don't know why they were there."

Lt. Windbigler wouldn't comment on the answer, or speak with WSBT on camera, referring all questions to the news release.

He also added that "the entire incident is still under investigation," and that the department hopes to issue an updated news release Tuesday.

No one answered the door at Kruszynski's Elkhart home near Simonton Lake Monday, but neighbors described him as a "quiet" man who keeps mostly to himself.

Neighbors living near the scene of the crash have a different feeling, however.

"Our children are supposed to be looking up to these guys," said Bobak. "I don't think I'd want my kids to look up to that. I just thank God nobody was injured."

Kruszynski remained in the Elkhart County Jail Monday evening without bond, but is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge Tuesday, Wendzonka said.

WSBT's calls to police administrators about Kruszynski's current status as an Elkhart police officer were not returned.

SBT24/7News contributed to this report