A Jasonville man is accused of leaving the scene of an accident in June after his rental truck hit water and sent him toward a ditch. He allegedly walked away and left the truck sitting sideways in a roadway.

Chad Michael Pante, 43, Jasonville, is accused of leaving the scene of an accident that occurred on Wednesday, June 9.

Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Harvey Holt was dispatched around 2:15 p.m. to a crash involving one vehicle on County Road 1000 West just north of County Road 800 North. A caller reported a black pickup truck may have hydroplaned and the driver was walking down the road. Another caller said the driver was wearing jeans and tennis shoes and a blue jean jacket.

When Deputy Holt arrived, he found a Ford F150 sitting sideways in the road, blocking both lanes of CR 1000 West. He reported the road surface had been damaged with a large gouge across the asphalt of the southbound lane. A witness on the scene provided the deputy with a photo of the driver taken before he left the scene.

The truck was a rental and Deputy Holt contacted the rental company to obtain the name of the person who rented the truck – Chad Pante. He also checked Pante’s driver’s license photo and it appeared to match the photo taken by the witness.

Deputy Holt reported after several days of trying to locate Pante, he talked with him via telephone and Pante allegedly admitted he was driving the truck. Pante said he was southbound on CR 1000 W and hit a patch of water that caused him to go into the ditch.

Pante told the deputy he left the scene after being there for a long time. He allegedly said he didn’t call the crash into police but he did contact the rental company to tell them where the truck was located.

According to Deputy Holt, he determined Pante did not call the rental company or any police department as required by law.

A criminal case was filed against Pante in early August and a summons was sent to Pante notifying him to appear in court for an initial hearing on September 20.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a Class B misdemeanor.