KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- The Highway Patrol says a Loudon County mail carrier was drunk when her car hit a state trooper in Farragut Friday night.

Besides driving under the influence, Julie E. Walker, 34, is charged with vehicular assault, failure to keep control and driving without insurance.

Officers say she hit trooper Phillip Wagner's cruiser almost head-on as he was pulling into a gas station off Campbell Station Road.

He suffered minor head injuries.

But police say he was treated at UT Medical Center and released.

Officers say Walker is a contract mail carrier, but was not on the job when the wreck occurred.

-----
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper was hospitalized Friday night after his cruiser was struck by an SUV in West Knox County.

It happened around 8:30 p.m. when Trooper Philip Wagner driving down Campbell Station Road in Farragut. THP officials said he was turning into a gas station parking lot when a red Jeep Cherokee turned into his lane and struck him nearly head on.

The driver of the Jeep wasn’t injured.

Reports from the scene initially indicated Trooper Wagner, who is assigned to Knox County, had suffered a head injury. THP officials confirmed he was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center following the wreck, but was stable, coherent and talking to investigators.

"It was very serious,” said Lt. Johnny McDonald, a THP official, “and we're very fortunate nobody got killed out of it. These crashes, we've seen them go from one extreme to the other. Some people walk away with no injuries and unfortunately other people have lost their lives in them."

Investigators said the Jeep appeared to be a postal vehicle. The driver was taken into custody for drug and alcohol testing. She’ll also be questioned about the wreck.

THP officials expected multiple charges to be filed against her.

Stay with Volunteer TV News and VolunteerTV.com for the latest on this story as it develops.