A crash on Thursday afternoon on State Road 54 just east of Bloomfield involving two vehicles resulted in the arrest of one driver who's accused of leaving the scene.

Caleb Arthur Hartley, 26, Bloomfield, was arrested by Deputy Sergeant Jordan Allor of the Greene County Sheriff's Department on Thursday afternoon, October 27.

At 2:53 PM yesterday, Thursday, October 27, a crash involving two vehicles occurred on East SR 54 near County Road 70 E, east of Bloomfield. One vehicle failed to stop after the crash and fled the scene.

Sergeant Allor responded and when he arrived, a woman told him the other driver that fled was farther east walking away from his vehicle on SR 54. Approximately 2,247 feet east of the accident site, Sergeant Allor found the driver, later identified as Caleb Hartley, standing next to a 2007 Ford Focus with major front end damage disabling the vehicle. The driver’s side airbag was deployed.

Hartley told the deputy he was just involved in a crash and his vehicle would not stop. He allegedly said he tried putting the brakes on but the vehicle continued traveling east.

When asked to provide his driver’s license and other information, Hartley allegedly said he did not have insurance and only had a title for the vehicle because he had not registered it yet. When asked if the license plate would return to a different vehicle, Hartley said yes. When asked what happened during the crash, Hartley allegedly said the car in front of him stopped suddenly to turn into Metal Technologies and he did not have time to do anything and collided with the vehicle in front of him.

Hartley's driver’s license turned out to be suspended with a prior conviction for driving while suspended. He has also been convicted of failure to provide proof of insurance for an accident in January of 2021, failure to provide proof of insurance in October of 2020, failure to provide proof of insurance for an accident in July 2016, and failure to provide proof of insurance for an accident in February of 2015.

Hartley was transported to the sheriff's department where he was booked into the Greene County Jail with bond set at $2000 surety with 10% cash allowed.

Deputy Allor reported that when he later talked to Bloomfield Town Marshal Ken Tharp who was investigating the crash, Tharp told him the driver of the other vehicle that was rear-ended said he was approaching the entrance to Metal Technologies and had his turn signal activated. He had to stop due to traffic and while he was stopped, one vehicle went around him on the right travelling east and the other vehicle, which was Hartley's, then rear-ended him. The driver said after the crash he noticed Hartley's vehicle accelerated away from the scene.

A criminal case was filed against Hartley in Greene Superior Court earlier today, Friday, October 28. The date for his initial hearing is not yet known.

Hartley is being charged with:

Driving while suspended, a knowing violation with a prior conviction within 10 years, a Class A misdemeanor,
Leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor, and
Operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility with a prior, a Class C misdemeanor.