A truck driven by the commander of the Cherokee County Drug Task Force ran into a suspect on an all-terrain vehicle Friday evening during a pursuit across a soybean field in Gaylesville.

Drug Cmdr. Chas Clifton hit James Hudgins’ four-wheeler when Hudgins appeared to stop suddenly, witnesses said.

Sheriff Larry Wilson said Saturday that he wasn’t sure if Hudgins stopped or tried to turn in front of Clifton’s truck.

Hudgins was flown by helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was in the intermediate care medical unit, a step down from intensive care, hospital officials said.

Medic Danny Smith of the Cherokee Emergency Medical Service said Hudgins was complaining of back pain when he arrived shortly after the accident Friday.

Medics called for a helicopter to transport Hudgins as a precaution, Smith said.

Officers were called to the Chesnut farm in Gaylesville on Friday evening after receiving reports that Hudgins was firing a gun and behaving erratically.

Hudgins had a pistol and he had thrown marijuana and marijuana seeds off the four-wheeler when officers were following him across the recently planted field, which is near Cherokee County Roads 35 and 91, Wilson said.

Witnesses to the crash said the four-wheeler was damaged and the Chevrolet truck that Clifton was driving also was damaged.

Clifton was not injured in the crash.

The sheriff said Hudgins will face charges in connection with the incident.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation will review the case because a law officer was involved, Wilson said.

Clifton, a former Rainbow City officer, took over as head of the task force last year.

He has led several high-profile drug arrests including recent charges against three Gaylesville men in a marijuana trafficking operation