The week is not off to a good start for WHIO in Dayton.

Word comes down that the station's Chief Meteorologist Jamie Simpson is charged with OVI and hospitalized after a crash in Greene County Thursday.

Ohio State Police Lt. Douglas Eck says that Simpson ran a stop sign and crashed just before 1:30 p.m. No one else was in the vehicle and no one else was injured.

Eck said that troopers took a blood sample at the scene. He said they served Simpson with a misdemeanor citation for OVI and failure to obey a traffic signal. Eck said troopers will likely complete their report on Friday and their paperwork will be filed with the court clerk later Today.

The Xenia Daily Gazette interviewed eyewitness Wallace Campbell, who said, “My wife and I were traveling North on US 68 at Middleton Corner when we saw a car go airborne, crash through the fence of a horse pasture, travel some distance and then come to a stop after hitting a tree.”

Simpson, 44, has worked at WHIO since 1999 according to the station website. Below is a statement from Cox Media Group Ohio, which owns WHIO.

Jamie Simpson was in a one-car accident Thursday on his day off.  He remains in the hospital and Doctors are still evaluating his condition.  His health is our first concern right now.

We are waiting for more details from the accident investigation.  We also expect that due to his condition, it will be a few days before we can talk in detail with Jamie about what happened.  Our thoughts and prayers are that he will make a full recovery.

H/T WDTN