NEW CASTLE, Del. (CBS) – A Delaware man arrested for his 7th DUI told police he crashed his car because he was trying to avoid an elephant on the road.

Thirty-one-year-old Samuel Phipps was arrested after the crash that occurred Friday evening on I-295 southbound near the on-ramp for Delaware Route 141 northbound.

According to investigators, Phipps drove his 1998 Land Rover off of the left side of the roadway and struck the left guardrail.

The trooper who responded to the scene found that Phipps appeared to be impaired. Investigators say that Phipps admitted to smoking marijuana that had been dipped in PCP prior to driving.

According to investigators, Phipps told the trooper that the accident was a result of Phipps swerving to avoid an elephant he observed running in the path of his vehicle.

Phipps was charged with Driving a Vehicle Under the Influence of a Drug and Failure to Have Required Insurance. This is his 7th DUI arrest.

Phipps is being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institute on $21,000 secured bond.