Stoned driver smashes into CNN Centre lobby

Gerlmy Javon Todd, 22, told police he smoked marijuana before his Mercedes-Benz ploughed into the glass entrance

CNN tweeted this picture yesterday morning (Twitter)

The driver of a Mercedes-Benz convertible which smashed into the lobby of CNN’s Atlanta headquarters had smoked marijuana before the crash, police have said.

Gerlmy Javon Todd, 22, told police he fell asleep at the wheel before the car veered into the lobby of the CNN Centre early Friday morning.

But this morning police authorities from Atlanta, Georgia, told MailOnline that Todd was in possession of marijuana and had admitted he smoked the drug before the crash.

Officer John Chafee added that Todd “was taken into custody and is being charged with DUI Less Safe, Reckless Driving and Possession of Marijuana”.

He is reported to have had multiple drug offences in Florida, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution newspaper.

Todd was accompanies by an unidentified female passenger who told a reporter to “get out of my face” when approached by a camera crew as she retrieved belongings from the car.

The crash happened at 4.15am on Friday morning. CNN ended up reporting on itself and shared a photo of the crash on Twitter, saying: '"Breaking" news at CNN Center - a driver crashed into our lobby! Fortunately no injuries”.

The collision removed a section of glass around 10 feet high and about 15 feet long from the building’s façade.