VIDALIA — Two Vidalia Police Department officers have been placed on non-paid administrative leave, while a Sunday morning accident involving the Rev. Justin Conner is further investigated.

Conner, 40, was traveling west on Alabama Street at approximately 1:48 a.m., when he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel. His vehicle left the roadway and struck a foundation to a house under construction.

Conner received moderate injuries, and there was extensive damage to his vehicle and the foundation of the house.

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but Conner refused medical treatment.

Conner received a citation for careless operation and no seat belt. A breathalyzer or field sobriety test was not administered.

After receiving complaints from residents in the neighborhood, Police Chief Arthur Lewis said the accident will be investigated to determine if his officers followed proper policy and procedure.

“We want to make sure our officers did everything they were supposed to do, and that they handled the situation properly,” Lewis said. “If they failed to perform their duties, we’re going to discipline the officers appropriately.”

Until that investigation is complete, the two officers that handled the accident have been placed on non-paid administrative leave, Lewis said.

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this and find out the truth,” Lewis said.

Lewis declined to name the officers involved until the investigation was complete.

Conner said he was not aware of the investigation and that there was no truth to any allegations of him being intoxicated during the accident.

“They didn’t do a breathalyzer because I didn’t need it,” Conner said. “The airbag was deployed and knocked me around a bit, but I was fine afterward.

“I went to church the next day and preached.”

Conner said his insurance company is taking care of the damages to the foundation of the home, including any necessary repairs.

“I’m always on the go trying to do things for other people, and I was just exhausted,” Conner said.

The house under construction belongs to Shannon Weeks Probst and Adam Probst, who said they had no knowledge of the accident until being notified by a neighbor.

“We were out of town when it happened, and by the time we got there it was about 4:30 a.m. and nobody was there anymore,” Shannon said. “The street is not a busy street, so I’m not sure why somebody would be just driving around that late.”

Shannon said she was unsure of the exact damage to the house, but that, hopefully, it would not affect the foundation of the house.

“He hit the front porch area,” Shannon said. “We’ll have to rip up all the cinder blocks and tear up that area to redo it.”