Chattooga County Employee Facing DUI, Child Endangerment Charges Remains on the Job, Driving County Vehicle

A Chattooga County Water Department employee facing DUI and child endangerment charges is still employed by the county and still driving a county vehicle while his case moves through the court system, according to Sole Commissioner Andy Allen.

Donavan Andrew Henderson, known as Andrew, 36, of Trion, was arrested by Georgia State Patrol on June 26, 2026, following a single-vehicle crash on Welcome Hill Road at Chandler Road in Chattooga County. According to the Georgia Motor Vehicle Crash Report, Henderson was driving a 1998 Jeep Wrangler east on Welcome Hill Road when he negotiated a curve, ran off the south shoulder, lost control, rotated counter-clockwise across both lanes, ran off the opposite shoulder, and overturned, coming to rest on its right side. Two passengers were in the vehicle: a 42-year-old woman and a nine-year-old child. According to the crash report, all three occupants were extricated and no injuries were reported.

Trooper First Class J. Mitchell, who assisted at the scene, reported that Henderson told him he had consumed “one beer.” Henderson agreed to a preliminary breath test, which registered a blood alcohol content of .158, according to the DPS Incident Report. Henderson submitted to field sobriety testing. Henderson also agreed to a state-administered blood test; those results remain pending.

Henderson was booked into the Chattooga County Jail on three charges: DUI/Alcohol (0.08 grams or more, 21 years of age or over), with a $1,900 cash/property bond; DUI/Child Endangerment; and Failure to Maintain Single Lane.

Henderson is an employee of the Chattooga County Water Department. While his case proceeds through the courts, Chattooga County Public Services Superintendent Tim Brunson submitted a letter to the court on official Public Services Superintendent letterhead, including the county seal, asking the court to allow Henderson to keep his job.

In the letter, Brunson wrote that Henderson “has been a valuable employee of the Water Department for many years and is an essential part of the Water Department’s daily operations.” Brunson said he had “watched Mr. Henderson grow this past year as a person and leader, taking pride in his work,” and described him as someone who “genuinely cares for the Department and the community.” Brunson acknowledged that Henderson “made a mistake” but asked the court “to consider his commitment to providing safe water for the community and Andrew’s commitment to his family, which I can tell from our discussions he loves very much.” Brunson added that he and other Water Department employees “will continue to work with Andrew and support him any way we can.”

Brunson’s letter states that “one of Andrew’s requirements for employment is to be able to drive county vehicles” and that “driving is an essential part of his job.” He described Henderson as “a good person” who is “human and makes mistakes,” and wrote that he hoped “the Court can work with Andrew to keep him working, supporting his family, and being a part of the County work family.”

AllOnGeorgia submitted questions directly to Superintendent Brunson, asking whether the other employees referenced in his letter were aware he was speaking on their behalf, and whether, as Henderson’s supervisor, he felt he had followed the county employee handbook regarding the situation.

Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Andy Allen responded to those questions on Brunson’s behalf.

“This letter supports Andrew, who is and has been a great employee of Chattooga County Water,” Allen wrote. “It is well within Mr. Brunson’s rights to support an employee as he did here. The employee handbook has been followed and will continue to be followed in this situation and any others that come about.”

According to the Chattooga County Employee Handbook, Chapter 4, Section 4 (“Criminal Charges Against an Employee”), if a criminal charge is serious enough to interfere with an employee’s ability to perform the job or would cause serious public concern, the policy calls for the employee to be placed on a leave of absence until the charges are resolved. The policy specifically instructs supervisors to consider whether the employee uses a government vehicle when making that determination.

Henderson’s job requires him to drive, a point Brunson’s letter itself acknowledges twice. His pending charges include DUI, failure to maintain a single lane, and child endangerment; the child named in the DUI/Child Endangerment charge, according to the crash report, was a nine-year-old passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

By the county’s account, no leave of absence, suspension, or vehicle restriction has been put in place while the charges are pending.

Henderson is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.