A Rocky Mount man was charged with driving under the influence Thursday night after running down the town's iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, police said.

John Ozmore, 53, was traveling south on South Main Street about 7:15 p.m. when he crossed into the northbound lane, hit a sidewalk, and then crashed into the statue, said Sgt. Don Brown of the Rocky Mount Police Department.

Ozmore's Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck then hit a column of the Franklin County Courthouse, Brown said.

Ozmore, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

The statue, however, suffered significant damage.

"I'm just about for sure it can't be repaired," Brown said. "I never would have guessed a small truck could do what it did to that."

The courthouse, though, was not badly damaged.

"I'm sure the statue slowed the S-10 down," Brown said.

Jubal Early was a Franklin County native who fought in the Civil War and later was a prosecutor for Franklin and Floyd counties.

--Amanda Codispoti