No injuries were reported after a vehicle crashed into an REMC utility pole in Solsberry late last Wednesday night, December 5, but a rural Solsberry man is facing a misdemeanor charge for leaving the scene of an accident.

Stephen Scott French, 25, Solsberry, was arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Zachary Goad before midnight that night. French’s bond was set at $500 surety with ten percent cash allowed and he was released December 6 after posting $50 cash.

Deputy Goad, the investigating officer, was dispatched after a 9:57 p.m. call reported an accident in the area of East Wilkerson Drive and North Washington Street in Solsberry involving a truck that crashed into an REMC utility pole. The caller told a dispatcher they had helped the driver of a white Colorado pickup truck get out of a ditch before the driver left the scene. They didn’t get identifying info or a plate number but they said the driver didn’t live far away.

A search of the sheriff’s department computer system found a white Chevrolet Colorado truck registered to French with an address on North Newark Road which was a short distance from the scene.

When Deputy Goad arrived on the scene along with GCSD Det. Shawn Cullison, they found a visibly damaged REMC utility pole that could have potentially fallen over, with a headlight cover and pieces of a broken headlight lying next to the pole. REMC was notified and was sending employees to repair or replace the pole.

By 10:32 p.m., about 35 minutes after the call came in to dispatch, the two deputies arrived at French’s home to talk to him and found a white Chevrolet Colorado parked in the driveway with damage to the front passenger side headlight, bumper, hood and fender.

In a probable cause affidavit prepared by Deputy Goad, he said French told them he hit the pole, was pulled out by people at the scene, told them he lived nearby and then left. When asked why he didn’t report the accident, French told them he didn’t call because nobody was hurt.

Goad reported that when he talked to French later, French said after he crossed railroad tracks, he hit ice, slid sideways and hit the ditch and the pole. He also said he told people on the scene that he was going to call REMC because the pole looked crooked.

Goad also reported he had detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage when he was speaking to French at French’s home but French allegedly said he hadn’t had anything to drink before the accident but started drinking after he got home. Goad said he asked French why he chose to start drinking first before he called to report the accident.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a Class B misdemeanor. Court records indicate an initial hearing was held this week and that French has retained Bloomington defense attorneys Carl Salzmann and Emily Salzmann to represent him in this matter.