A Gainesville man who apparently abandoned his wrecked truck on Cleveland Highway Thursday morning, causing a subsequent accident, has been arrested.
Gainesville Police Cpl. Jessica Van said Frankie C. Smith, 30, crashed his truck into a power pole in front of Riverbend Church, breaking the pole and causing power lines to hang low over the roadway. Around 2 a.m., a tractor-trailer driving along the corridor became entangled in the power lines and pulled down two additional power poles.
Van said when police arrived at the scene of the incident, the driver of the Chevy Avalanche was nowhere to be found, but investigators were able to find Smith by tracking the license plate number on the truck. Smith was arrested just before midnight on Thursday, according to Van. He was charged with violating his duty upon striking a fixture.
Van said a section of Cleveland Highway between Clarks Bridge Road and Old Clarks Bridge Road was closed for more than 12 hours while power crews worked to repair damage and restore electricity in the area. Police did not know how many residents and businesses were impacted.
"We were informed that damages were over $40,000," Van said. "That includes the power poles, the power lines, equipment and really anything that was related to the crash."
Van said while the incident was inconvenient and expensive, fortunately, no one was injured.
